Porcelain
by Mad Genius Juul
Summary: Even the strongest of warriors can be broken...
1. The Fight

**Porcelain by Juul**

**Author's Note: Okay, this is my first ever Inuyasha fanfiction. I hope it isn't too bad, and I'm sorry if it is. I know the plot is probably over-used and all, but this idea just came to me a few nights ago, and I've been too damn lazy to write it down until now. I promise I will make this story different from others like it. Please review, all feedback is appreciated! Sucky summary, I know, I'm not very good at writing those.**

**Summary: Even the strongest of warriors can be broken, just as easily as glass or porcelain.**

**Warnings: Well, nothing really, for a while at least. But there will be some very gory fight scenes in the beginning and throughout the story. This story will also involve rape and torture, nothing graphic, though. Any other warnings that I can think of at the moment... well, minor cursing and stuff like that.**

Chapter One: The Fight

"Naraku, you son of a bitch!" Inuyasha yelled as he slashed at the demon with the tetsusaiga. "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I ever do! You'll never get all the jewel shards! Never!"

The evil demon moved out of the way of the hanyou's sword and held up a sword of his own. "Foolish half-breed, you can't kill me. No one can kill me." He attempted to strike Inuyasha with the sword, but the half demon was too quick.

Kagome watched Inuyasha duel with Naraku from behind a bush; Kirara, who was injured in a previous battle, and Shippo also hiding with her She carefully positioned an arrow on the bow and aimed at Naraku. "Inuyasha!" she screamed. "Look out!" Inuyasha jumped out the way, smiling, and Naraku turned around to see what Kagome had screamed about. The miko smiled as the arrow struck Naraku in the side, causing him to double over for a moment or two.

Now was his chance. Inuyasha jumped up into the air and jumped onto Naraku's back, shoving him into the cold, hard earth. Inuyasha wasn't even going to use his sword to kill the heartless bastard; he would kill Naraku with his bare hands. Inuyasha spread his claws out and then started tearing at Naraku's back, ripping his kimono to shreds.

Miroku and Sango charged at Naraku at full speed. Miroku wacked him in the skull as hard as he could with his staff, causing blood to slowly seep from the demon's head. Inuyasha stepped off of him and gave him a swift kick in the side before stepping aside to let his friends have a go at beating Naraku senseless.

"Miroku!" yelled Sango, as she pulled the hiraikotsu off of her back. "Move out of my way! He's mine! I'm gonna kill him!" She hurled the oversized boomerang at Naraku, just as he managed to stand up, and of course the impact sent him flying. He nearly landed on Inuyasha, who happily slashed Naraku's shoulder with the tetsusaiga.

Naraku laid still for a few moments. The group watched in silence, until they heard the demon's hideous laughter as he slowly stood up. Before anyone could do anything, he whipped around and grabbed Inuyasha by his throat and pulled him close. "Stupid halfbreed," he snarled, "I'll kill you right now. I think I'll make it quick and painless, too." He was about ready to crush the half-demon's neck, but that was delayed due to Sango coming up behind him and kicking him in the back, Miroku following suit.

Naraku cringed as he lay on the ground. "I know something that will take care of you for a while..." he snapped his fingers and in the blink of an eye, Kohaku was standing in the middle of the destroyed clearing that they were fighting in. "Kohaku, take care of the monk and the taijiya. I'll rid the world of Inuyasha and the miko."

Kohaku threw his blade at Miroku, catching him off guard and managing to make a huge gash in his shoulder. Miroku fell to his knees, clutching the wound. The boy walked towards him and was ready to end him with his katana, but was stopped by one of Kagome's arrows.

Inuyasha, who was still dueling with Naraku, looked over his shoulder for a moment and screamed, "Sango! What the hell are you doing just standing there? I don't give a damn if he's your brother or not! Get him!" Inuyasha was almost struck by Naraku's sword, and retaliated by slashing the evil demon with the tetsusaiga. "Don't give me that look, dammit!" Inuyasha really did feel bad for Sango, having to fight her brother and all, but Kohaku was one of Naraku's mindless puppets now.

Seeing another arrow coming towards him, Kohaku fled the clearing and ran into the forest. Sango remained standing watching everything happening, not sure what to do. "Sango!" screamed Inuyasha, obviously very pissed off, "Chase after him! Get him-- what the hell?" Inuyasha was struck in the side with Naraku's sword.

Sango came to her senses and chased after Kohaku, running as fast as she could. Could she really kill him? She had problems fighting him to begin with, but killing him just wouldn't happen anytime soon. Reluctantly, the taijiya threw the hiraikotsu forward, knocking a few trees in half, revealing another clearing in the forest. The weapon returned to her grasp, and Sango held it over her head, while standing in a battle stance as she scanned the area for any signs of her once sweet, innocent little brother.

Out of nowhere, Sango heard laughter, and evil laughter at that. She looked around, trying to find where it came from. The young woman backed up slowly and bumped into someone. She turned around and saw Naraku standing there. "Naraku!" said Sango. She dropped her weapon and threw her fist at Naraku, hitting him hard enough in the face to bloody his lip.

Naraku just stood there, a sick smile forming on his face. "I won't die so easily, stupid mortal."

"Where is Kohaku? What did you do with my friends?" Sango demanded, backing away from the demon, and quickly picking up the hiraikotsu.

Naraku chuckled. "Oh, they're fine. They're all fine."

Sango heard a noise behind her and spun around to see what it was. When she turned back around, Naraku was gone. "Where are you, you coward?" she asked. "Show yourself, you sick bastard! Fight me!"

All was quiet for a few minutes. Sango would not let her guard down, no matter what. Then she felt something grab her around her throat from behind. Sango slammed her body into Naraku's and knocked him away for the time being. He stumbled backward, watching her every move. The demon slayer rubbed her neck for a split second, then hurled the hiraikotsu at Naraku, hitting him with it, and making him fly into a tree, knocking it in half.

"Come on, Naraku," said Sango, "Quit playing games, dammit!"

Naraku got up and without any warning charged at the woman and unsheathed his sword. Sango acted in response to this, and pulled out her own sword, and held it up just in time. For a while, Sango and Naraku stood in the middle of the clearing, swords interlocked, staring into one another's eyes with pure hatred. Until finally, Naraku got tired of this and swung his foot into Sango's foot, causing her to lose her ground and fall.

The taijiya dropped her weapon, and looked up at Naraku's bloodstained form. Naraku stared back. Sango stood up once more, and ran towards the bastard, jumping up in the air and going to kick him in the face. That attempt failed; Naraku grabbed her by her ankle and threw her to the ground. Sango landed on her stomach, and the wind was knocked out of her lungs for a moment.

"You can't defeat me. Not even 'the great Inuyasha' could defeat me. So in other words, you have no chance, you insignificant little wench," said Naraku. He gave her a kick in the stomach, causing her to roll over on her back. Then Naraku struck her left shoulder with his sword, piercing her flesh, blood spewing everywhere.

Sango let out an earpiercing scream as the blade cut through her shoulder, and coming out the other side. She grabbed the blade with her right hand, and managed to slowly move the blade out of her shoulder, then she stood up, grasping the wound, and glaring daggers at Naraku.

Naraku shook his head and examined his weapon. "Stupid, foolish child. When will you learn when to give up?"

Sango screamed as she ran as fast as she could at Naraku. Naraku slammed his body into hers and then shoved her to the ground, where he proceeded in kicking her until she grabbed him by his ankle and pulled him down. The hellspawn landed right next to Sango, who grabbed a rather large rock and crashed it over his head. She tried to crawl away, but Naraku yanked her backwards by her foot, so that she was positioned under him. Sango kicked him off of her and then slowly stood up. Naraku did, too, a few feet away.

This was surely a match made in hell. The two sworn enemies stood about five feet apart, both covered in blood, ready to fight to the death.

"Well, Naraku," Sango said in a weak voice, "one of us goes, one of us stays. If it don't work out that way, then neither of us stays." The demon slayer spit out an immense amount of blood, then smiled at her opponent.

"You're right about that one," replied Naraku, as he threw his sword at her as if it was a spear, striking her in the side, ripping through her flesh with a sickening noise. Sango screamed and fell backwards, hitting her head on a rock.

She tried with every little ounce of anything she had to get back up and fight, but soon everything went black. Sango had finally stopped fighting, and she lay motionless on the ground, almost completely covered in blood.

Naraku, of course, had plans for this one. He knew very well that the taijiya would never give up, never. But he had ways of fixing that.


	2. Captured

**Porcelain by Juul**

**Warnings: Another fight, just not as gory as the last one, and a little more cursing.**

Chapter Two: Captured

Inuyasha walked over to Miroku. "Has she come back yet?"

Miroku shook his head. "No. Apparently you haven't found her, either?"

"Oh shut the hell up, Miroku!" yelled the hanyou, out of rage.

Kagome hated it when the guys fought like this, but she had to admit, this time, they had a good reason for it. Shippo never liked it much, himself. Inuyasha mad was very scary sometimes.

"What do you think happened to her?" asked Shippo, as he comfortingly stroked Kirara's soft fur.

Inuyasha was getting very impatient and a little worried about Sango by now. "Hell if I know!"

"It's not like her to just leave like that," said Kagome.

"Well, yeah," said Inuyasha, pacing back and forth, "she went after Kohaku last time I saw her. When we were fighting with Naraku."

"What if Naraku killed her?" asked Kagome in a frightened voice.

Miroku was broke out of his thoughts by those words. No! Sango couldn't be dead! "She's not dead!" Inuyasha replied angrily. "If she was dead, I'd be able to smell it. But I did happen to find a place with a whole lot of blood. It smells like Sango... and Naraku."

"We could go there and look around!" said Miroku. Any sign indicating that Sango was alive was good enough for the monk.

"I didn't hang around long. I figured you guys would start freaking out and get lost trying to find me, too," said the half demon. "And I also found her weapons. Something happened."

This angered Miroku. How could Inuyasha not look around? What if Sango was there when he was and she was too badly injured to alert him? "Come on! We are looking for her!" Miroku stood up and gave the others a very serious look, something Miroku hardly ever did. "Inuyasha, show me where you found all of this."

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Sango opened her eyes and dizzily sat up. She felt like she was supposed to have died, but didn't. Sango put a hand to her head and tried to focus on her whereabouts. She was in a small room of some sort, more than likely a cell. Then it hit her- she was in Naraku's castle!

It took her a minute to think about how she had gotten there. She remembered helping Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku fight Naraku, going after Kohaku, then fighting Naraku by herself... after that, everything was all a blur. Naraku must have brought her here. Sango wondered what he was going to do with her. Hold her for ransom, or the shikon jewel? Kill her? Make her another one of his mindless slaves? All of her thoughts were broken by someone opening the door to her cell, allowing a small amount of light to fill the place.

Kagura stood in the doorway. "Go clean yourself up. Naraku wishes to see you."

It took Sango a moment to find her voice. "Fuck him. _I_ don't wish to see him."

The wind sorceress walked towards the injured girl and gently kicked her leg. "I have nothing against you, but I have no reason to help you" Sango just looked up at her with hatred in her eyes. "I'm just telling you this because if it was up to me, I would have just left you to die in the forest; either that or I would have just taken the shikon shards, and not even bothered to waste my time and fight."

"What the hell does Naraku want with me?" asked Sango.

Kagura was losing her patience. If this kid didn't cooperate, they'd both pay, and the sorceress didn't feel like getting beaten by Satan in a baboon pelt. "I really hate to do this but..." Kagura waved her fan and muttered something. This somehow made the taijiya stand straight up, against her will. Kagura muttered something else and waved the fan once more, this time making Sango run herself into a wall.

"What did I _do?" _Sango rubbed her already injured shoulder and headed towards the door, stopping only to give Kagura an angry look.

Kagura lightly shoved Sango out into a rather dark hallway, lit only by candles in torches, hanging on the walls every six feet or so. "Follow me, taijiya. There is a bathroom this way." She started down the hallway, with Sango limping a few feet behind her. Kagura noticed that the young woman's footsteps had stopped. "Oh, and don't try anything stupid. There's no way to escape."

"How do you know?" replied Sango.

"I've tried," was Kagura's simple answer.

They continued walking down the hallway, until they reached the destination. "There is clothing in there for you. And some medicine I prepared- it will heal your wounds, but the pain will not go away for a while." Kagura gave Sango another soft shove and then slammed the door to the bathroom shut. "One more thing, taijiya. Hurry up! If you are late, so am I because I have to make sure you don't try anything, and if I'm late for any reason, Naraku will punish me."

Sango shook her head and undressed, actually remotely happy to get out of her bloody demon slayer outfit. She walked over to the bath and lowered herself into the water, which was surprisingly warm. She took a few moments to relax, and then began to cleanse herself. Just as she was done washing the dried blood out of her hair, she heard Kagura slamming her fist against the door.

"Hurry up! If Naraku gives me any garbage about this, I'm going to rip you to shreds!" Kagura shouted impatiently.

Sango was getting annoyed with Kagura, real fast. She tried to ignore Kagura's uneeded comments as she dressed herself in a plain white kimono that was left for her. "Psycho..." Sango muttered to herself.

This apparently angered Kagura to a degree that she actually slammed the door open and stomped over to Sango, who wasn't even halfway dressed yet. "_What did you just say to me, mortal_?" asked the furious sorceress.

"I didn't say a word," answered Sango, turning away from Kagura, then drinking the medicine left for her.

Theywalked down another long corridor After a while, they arrived at a large set of oak doors. Kagura stepped aside and said, "You go first."

Sango decided not to anger Kagura anymore, so she obeyed and opened the doors, going into another poorly lit room. The room was huge, with torches lined on the walls, like in the halls, and a long, red carpet leading up a small set of steps to a throne. And on that throne sat Naraku, with Kohaku and Kanna waiting patiently on either side of him.

"Ah, Kagura," said Naraku, "You've actually done something right for once." Naraku was once again in his human disguise-- the prince.

"Yes, master," Kagura bowed and shot Sango a nasty glance.

"Sango," said Naraku, getting up and walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. The taijiya lunged at him, making a move to choke him, but Naraku stopped her by grabbing her by her wrists. "Do you know why you're here?" he asked. Sango shook her head, that look of undying hatred never leaving her face. "You are bait for Inuyasha and those other two. They'll come here to save you. You know it, as do I. And if they come here, I'll kill them and finally get the shikon jewel. After that, well... I've got a good idea of what I'll do with you." He shoved her backwards.

Sango reached over her shoulder for the hiraikotsu, but then remembered that it was probably back in the forest. "Shit," she cursed under her breath.

"What?" taunted Naraku. "No weapons to fight with?"

She didn't need weapons to fight this waste of space. "I don't need weapons," said Sango. "Or taunts from you."

"Very well then," said Naraku. "Let's fight."

Sango waited for him to make the first move, which was... sending Kagura to fight her?

"Well," said Kagura, "I finally get to fight the infamous demon slayer, Sango. Are you really as good of a fighter as I hear?" Kagura unfolded her fan and held it up against her face, covering everything except for her blood red eyes.

Sango said nothing, but crouched down in a fighting stance. She'd let the witch make the first move. Kagura swiped her fan through the air, causing a curse to go towards Sango, but it missed. Sango did a backflip and then ran full speed towards Kagura. The wind sorceress knew what she was going to do-- either charge into her, or kick her; how pathetic. But the taijiya did neither of these. Instead, she jumped clear over Kagura and landed gracefully behind her.

It took Kagura a moment to register what had just happened, but by that time, Sango had come up behind Kagura and kicked her in the middle of her back, causing her to fall forward. "Kagura! You imbecile! Get up and fight her! She's only a mortal!" Naraku screamed at his creation.

Kagura turned around, still on the floor, but in a matter of seconds, Sango had flung herself onto the witch, and had pinned her arms to her sides. "I'll kill you if I have to. It doesn't matter to me," said Sango, "Just one less monster of Naraku's to deal with." Sango put her hands around Kagura's neck in an attempt to choke her, but was soon thrown off.

"That's enough," said Naraku, watching the demon slayer as she stood completely still, watching him.

"Aren't you going to fight me?" asked Sango. "Or are you too important to do anything by yourself, except order others around? Do tell me, Naraku, how is it that you manage to fuck up everyone else's lives so quickly? _How do you do it_?" That last sentence dripped with sarcasm.

"I'll fight you, alright," said Naraku in a sly voice. But there was something else in his voice, Sango noticed. But just what was it? "I see you are indeed a decent fighter," Naraku said.

Sango just couldn't take it anymore. No more of his stupid games! Sango shoved Kagura out of the way and ran towards Naraku. Naraku was shocked by this, and screamed at Kagura in defense, "Stop her, now!"

Kagura hurriedly muttered a curse and waved her fan at Sango. The curse made sent her flying into a wall, not that this did any good. Sango just got back up and ran towards the embodiment of evil. And Kagura sent another curse her way. This one, making her stop dead in her tracks. Sango knew that the curse would probably do something far worse.

"Are you sure?" Kagura asked Naraku, a very slight, almost nonexistant hint of worry in her voice.

"That is nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you don't do it," Naraku hissed.

Kagura reluctantly waved her fan once more, and closed her eyes. Sango felt a very weird sensation fill her body. "What in the--" Sango screamed as she was lifted off the ground and slammed into the ceiling. She fell to the floor in a heap, but got back up, yet again. Kagura saw Naraku nod his head, and the witch sent the curse in Sango's direction once more. This curse actually gave Kagura full control of the taijiya's body.

Sango tried to fight the curse, even managed to hold it off for a bit, but her strength was soon drained. She watched in shock as she felt her arms being raised against her will, and her hands covering her face. Then she felt her fingernails dig painfully into her face. This continued for little more than a minute before Sango started screaming and cursing in pain and started fighting the curse once more.

"That is enough, Kagura!" commanded Naraku.

Kagura gladly lifted the curse, and Sango fell forwards, the pain of her body hitting the hard stone floor not even bothering her. Kagura felt kind of bad for causing her to hurt herself like that. The wind sorceress quickly cleared those thoughts of sympathy and sorrow from her mind.

"Take her to her room," said Naraku, as he got off of his throne and picked up Sango's unconscious form and walked over to Kagura.

"What about the cell?" asked Kagura, casually messing around with her fan.

Naraku was quiet for a moment. He turned away and looked down at Sango. He felt her body tense up the moment he picked her up, even if she was knocked out. He also took note of the bloody trails going down her cheeks where she had clawed herself. Naraku turned towards Kagura once more and handed Sango to her. "A warrior with a spirit that strong deserves better than a mere cell."

Kagura looked from Sango to Naraku and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, master." With that said, she left. Kagura walked up a staircase and down a corridor towards her own room and went into another room across from it. Kagura placed Sango on the bed and left for a moment to get a towel to wipe the blood off of the girl's face. 'Foolish taijiya,' thought Kagura, 'she's wasting her time trying to fight him like that.'

Kagura had a faint idea of what Naraku was planning to do to Sango... and not one bit of it was good. Speak of the devil, Naraku appeared in the doorway, an evil smile adorning his features.

"She's a strong one, Sango," said Naraku. Kagura glared at him. "Witch, that's nothing compared to what I'm going to do. It won't be easy, but I will break her. I will make that wench wish that she had never been born."

**Author's Note: I know this story appears to be going nowhere, but trust me, it is. Just for the record, I don't hate Sango or Kagura, I just always write torturous, mean, gory parts in all of my serious stories like this one. How were my first two chapters? Reviews appreciated! If you review my stories, I promise to review yours.**


	3. Innocence Displaced

**Porcelain by Juul**

**Warnings: Gore, blood, cursing and rape**

Chapter Three: Innocence Displaced

Sango awoke the next morning and noticed that someone had taken her to a room. She pulled the covers off of her body and sat up. The walls were blank, other than a single torch on one side. The demon slayer got out of the bed and walked out of the room, stopping at the doorway only to check to make sure that Naraku was nowhere to be seen.

Starting down the hallway, she decided to try and get familiar with the place, considering that she might be there for a while. At the end of the hallway, she noticed a set of blood red doors. There was something bad behind those doors; Sango just knew there had to be. This was Naraku's castle for the sake of all things holy! Of course there would be something very horrible indeed somewhere in this monstrous place!

Sango looked around and waited a minute before placing her hand on the door, about to open it. But a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Don't go in there, girl," it was Kagura's voice, "if you know what's good for you."

"Why?" asked Sango.

Kagura was quiet for a moment. "Nothing but pure evil is in that room. That and..."

"Yes?" asked Sango.

"Nevermind," said Kagura, realizing that she had almost told Sango about Naraku's newly revealed plan. Kagura grabbed Sango by her arm and started pulling her in the other direction.

"Come on," said Sango as she pulled her arm out of Kagura's grasp, "What else is in there?"

"None of your concern, taijiya." Kagura lead her down a flight of stairs, down another hallway, and into a room with a great deal of food on the table. "Go and eat."

Sango cautiously walked over to the table. She picked up an apple and examined it, then giving Kagura a suspicious look.

"It's not poisoned," said Kagura. "Stay here. I have to go speak to Naraku about something."

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Kagura knocked on the doors leading to Naraku's throne room. "It is me, Kagura, Master Naraku," she proclaimed.

Naraku's evil laughter could be heard as the doors opened by themselves, and the wind sorceress stepped through, walked over to Naraku and bowed to him. Kohaku and Kanna stood obediently on either side of him.

"I know the perfect plan to finally break that stupid taijiya," said Naraku.

"But what is the point of making some girl lose her mind?" asked Kagura.

Naraku smiled. "So that there might be a chance that she either kills herself, which would mean one less nuissance to deal with..." Kagura raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Or," coninued Naraku, "there is also a chance that she would be too scared and ashamed of herself to tell Inuyasha, the miko, and that monk what happened. They will come here to avenge her and I will kill them."

"Anything else?" asked Kagura.

"Then the Shikon jewel is mine, for good. And ultimate power will be mine," Naraku casually stated.

Kagura sighed and looked towards the door, as if to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. "But what if the taijiya gets killed by the..." She wasn't sure if Naraku even wanted her to speak of his plan in Kohaku and Kanna's presence. "... Well, you know, the weapon."

"Oh, trust me, Kagura," said Naraku, "She won't get killed. Sango is too strong to get killed, especially of her own hand."  
He shook his head and let out a sigh. "Well, she might get badly injured or something like that. Afterall, hatred is the most powerful human emotion in my opinion. Hatred and _love_." Naraku said the last word as if it was something disgusting. "And if this doesn't kill her, she will more than likely go insane. One's self is often their worst enemy, you know?"

This made no sense to Kagura. "Sure thing, Master Naraku," said Kagura. "What will we do once that troublesome half-demon and his friends are dead?"

"Use this... weapon... to gain power. Then I will rule, and kill all of those stupid, worthless humans. They have no purpose anyway."

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Later that night, Kagura managed to sneak into Sango's room without Naraku or one of his other minions noticing. The witch finally knew what Naraku planned to do to the demon slayer. 'This is not right,' she thought to herself, 'I will have no part in this! I've got to warn her!'

Kagura dashed over to Sango's bed and shook the sleeping woman by her shoulders. "Wake up!" she hissed. "This is important!"

Sango woke up and rubbed her eyes. "What do you want?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Listen to me," said Kagura in a hushed voice, "don't fight Naraku. Let him kill you."

"Why would I let him do that?" asked Sango.

Kagura put a hand to her forehead. "Because if you don't, you'll have to live with this for the rest of your life."

What was that crazy witch talking about? "Live with what?" questioned Sango.

"He's going to try and use you--" Kagura looked over her shoulder as she heard Naraku's footsteps echoing through the corridor and into the room. "Shit."

"Use me for what?" Sango asked defiantly.

Kagura gave Sango one last look before disappearing through the doorway. "Don't say I didn't warn you, taijiya."

Naraku passed Kagura in the hallway. Strange, it seemed like she had come from the direction of Sango's room. "What were you doing," asked the evil demon.

"Making sure the wench was still in there. She is; and I really don't think she tried to escape," lied Kagura.

"Do you think I am stupid, Kagura?" asked Naraku.

Kagura shook her head. "No." Well, she wasn't lying, but she would like to be free of him forever.

"Be gone, Kagura," said Naraku as he continued towards Sango's room. "I have business to attend to."

He gently pushed the door to Sango's room open. The young woman shot him a look full of pure hatred. Sango jumped to her feet and stood in a fighting stance, ready to kill Naraku, if needed. Naraku didn't even slow his pace; he just kept walking towards her. He did stop, however, once he was standing directly in front of her. Sango stood straight up and gave him a confused look.

Naraku looked down at Sango and smiled. "You will no longer fight me."

"I'll fight you to the death!" yelled Sango, as she shoved Naraku back a few feet.

The demon stood still for a moment. "Instead, you'll fight something else... not quite as bad as me, but pretty bad."

"No problem!" said Sango. "I can take anything you have to kill me!"

Naraku walked towards her, an odd look in his eyes. This look scared Sango. She slowly backed up, until she felt her back pressing against the wall. "But first," said Naraku, "I need something from you." He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.

"Get off me!" Sango tried to shove him again, but he didn't budge. "What-- what are you doing?" Naraku had put his hands around Sango's waist, and had pulled her into an unwanted kiss. Sango brought her arm up and punched Naraku in the face. He stumbled back, not expecting this, which gave Sango a chance to kick him in the stomach and run towards the door.

Naraku wouldn't let her get away that easily. Naraku quickly got up and ran up behind Sango. He grabbed her around her waist and picked her up off the ground. She screamed in protest and attempted to hurt him in various ways, mostly kicking. Sango kicked him in the mouth, making a small amount of blood trickle down his chin. Okay, now she was getting him pissed off. Naraku threw her against the wall.

Sango hit her head, and tried to stand up, but fell. Naraku took this as his chance to beat her senseless. He kicked her as hard as he could in the stomach, several times. Naraku bent down and grabbed Sango by her ankle, and dragged her towards him, and positioned her body under his. Sango tried to punch him again, but he grabbed her hand and then struck her across the face.

The taijiya knew what was about to happen. She tried to think of a way to get him off, but her head still throbbed in pain from when Naraku threw her into the wall. Sango made on last attempt to shove him off of her, but it failed. Naraku literally ripped Sango's kimono off of her, and threw it to the side. She prayed for this not to happen, for anyone, even Kagura to come in and stop him. He proceeded in beating her for a few moments. The demon slayer didn't shed one tear, until now. Now that she realized that she was completely powerless against him.

"I thought you were a warrior, a fighter," said Naraku, "I thought you were strong. Only the weak cry, Sango." He looked her over and then pulled his robe off, tossing that aside. Then he positioned himself on top of her and looked her straight in the face, smiling, as he thrust himself into her.

Sango screamed out in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks. Maybe she was weak, maybe she was the worst warrior ever. That was it: Warriors didn't let things like this happen to themselves. Naraku continued having his way with Sango, while she continued screaming and crying.

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Kagura sat on the rooftop, listening in disgust, to the young woman's screams of pain and terror. "Naraku's such a monstrosity," said Kagura to herself. "I personally don't care much for Sango, but what he's doing to her is just wrong beyond all reason. And it's even worse that he expects her to be able to fight after this." Kagura waited for what seemed like hours for Sango's screams to die down. During that time, watching the dark clouds of the night sky to completely block the moon from sight.

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Naraku stood up and put his robe back on, leaving Sango lying in the middle of the room, shaking in fear. "One more thing..." Naraku bent down next to her. He pulled her into a sitting position, and then punched her as hard as he could in the stomach, actually making his fist puncture through her skin. Sango let out an earpiercing scream that could've raised the dead, sure she was going to die now. She just knew it.

The hellspawn stood up, his fists clenched. He smiled at Sango, before leaving the room, blood covering almost his whole right arm. He happened to pass Kagura on his way down the hall, going towards the two blood-red doors.

"You're a monster, Naraku," said Kagura, frowning at him, "I may be your servant, but please know this: You're so sick." With that said, the sorceress continued down the hallway, in the opposite direction of Naraku.

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Kagura entered Sango's room and shut the door quietly behind her. She shook her head at the sight. Sango was lying on the floor, covered in her own blood. Kagura kneeled down next to the taijiya, and gently rolled her over onto her back. The wind sorceress examined the hole in the girl's abdomen, and was shocked to see that somehow Sango wasn't dead. "How in the hell?" Kagura said to herself as she took a rather long piece of cloth out of her pocket and began wrapping it around Sango's waist.

Maybe the demon slayer wasn't so bad after all. "If she could survive something as terrible as this," thought Kagura, "I suppose she's alright." Kagura left the room to go get a bucket of water and another cloth. When she returned, she wasn't surprised that Sango was still unconsious. Kagura dipped the cloth in the water and began cleaning some of the blood off of Sango's body. "How you've survived, I'll never know," said Kagura. "No normal human could survive getting their entwines nearly ripped out."

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After Kagura had finished helping Sango, she went to the mysterious room at the end of the corridor and opened the doors. The witch looked around, eyeing Naraku in the middle of the darkened room. It was completely dark, other than a pale blue light coming from behind Naraku. "Just so you know, Naraku," said Kagura, "I'll have no part in this. For one, the taijiya really hasn't done anything to you, now that I think about it! And two, that demon you killed, she's never even seen you before, I'll bet!"

Naraku walked over to his creation and held up his hand, which was balled in a fist. "I got what I needed from that foolish woman." He uncurled his fingers, and laying in the palm of his hand was a small, glowing, red orb: part of Sango's soul.


	4. Rouge

**Porcelain by Juul**

**Warnings: None, really, in this chapter at least.**

Chapter Four: Rouge

Kagura looked up at Naraku, making eye contact with him. "So now she's pretty much like her zombie shard puppet brother, right? Or did you actually leave some of her soul in her?"

"Actually, I did," said Naraku, "All I took was some of her will to fight, and some of her hatred. She'll still be herself, just not as strong as she once was... for many reasons," he added, getting a really disgusted look from Kagura.

Naraku set the orb down on a table, next to a Shikon jewel shard, and another orb-- this one a much darker red, with something a deep shade of purple moving inside it. Naraku stepped away, backing up a few feet, and pulling Kagura with him.

Revealed from Naraku stepping away, was what appeared to be a ghost, or spirit. The ghost of a young woman, not much younger than Sango. The ghost was giving off a pale blue light, as she just hovered there, unmoving, her face twisted in a vacant frown, her eyes shut.

"Turn around, Kagura," said Naraku.

Kagura rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned around. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth in shock. Standing in front of her and Naraku was the body of that same girl as the ghost. Naraku turned to the table where the orbs and the jewel shard were and muttered something, a spell probably. The orbs fused into one. Then Naraku picked up the shard and walked behind the lifeless body. He muttered another curse, and Kagura knew that this one had embedded the jewel shard in the girl's back.

Naraku carefully picked the glowing orb up off the table and held it in one hand, while putting his other hand on the girl's shoulder. With one last curse said, the orb rose out of Naraku's hand and as fast as the blink of an eye, flew into the girl's chest. The body fell backwards and landed on the floor, shaking.

She screamed, then stood up. Naraku smiled. Kagura just shook her head in disgust. The girl rose into a kneeling position,  
her hands on the ground in front of her, and her gaze at the floor.

"I still can't believe you killed that demon's family, Naraku," commented Kagura.

"Can you feel your body now, Rouge?" asked Naraku, ignoring the sorceress' remark.

"Yes, Master Naraku," said the girl, apparently named Rouge.

"How do you feel?" asked Naraku, once more.

"Angry," said Rouge, in a monotone voice, "Ready to kill anyone who gets in my way."

"Does the name 'Ami' mean anything to you?" asked Naraku. "What about the names 'Yokama'? Or 'Damien'?"

"No."

"You don't feel remorse, sadness, shocked?" Naraku asked. So far, his plan was working. The demon girl didn't remember a thing.

"I don't understand," said Rouge.

Naraku smiled evilly, then looked over his shoulder at Kagura. "Rouge," he said, "I want you to come with me." The mind-controlled demon nodded her head and followed Naraku out of the room. Naraku stood in the doorway, waiting for Kagura to follow.

Kagura looked at the demon's soul, one last time. Then she looked to the back of the room, knowing of a few other things hidden in that room. She left the room, and Naraku locked the door.

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Sango opened her eyes and tried to remember what had happened the night before. Kagura's warnings... small fight with Naraku... Sango remembered what happened after that. She would remember being raped by Naraku for the rest of her life.

_Naraku_.

Just the mere thought of him made Sango sick. The demon slayer sat up, biting her lip in pain to stop from screaming. She felt like she should have died. Maybe she should have. Naraku had officially taken everything from her; her family, her entire village; seperated her from her friends; and now, taking every last ounce of innocence that Sango had left, and breaking her spirit in the process. Sango laid back down on her side and hugged her knees to her chest in a fetal position, and cried.

Sango didn't even notice Kagura come into the room. Kagura sat on the bed next to the emotionally-wrecked demon slayer. Sango, automatically assuming that Naraku had come back, pulled the blanket over her head, and screamed, "_Get away from me_!"

Kagura paid no attention to this, and slowly pulled the blanket off of Sango's body. "Look, taijiya-- Sango," said the wind sorceress in an unusually soft tone, "I'm sorry about what Naraku did to you. That was just horrible beyond words."

Sango looked at Kagura with the most helpless look on her face, something that Kagura had never seen her show before. "Why did you help me?" asked Sango, noticing that she was now clean and dressed, and also feeling the tightness of a bandage around her waist.

"Because," said Kagura, "I want out of here. And I know you do, too." Sango nodded. "You aren't that bad. And I suppose that Inuyasha and your other friends aren't that bad, either. And I want Naraku dead."

Sango burst into tears and threw her arms around Kagura's neck. "I don't just want out of here!" she sobbed. "I should be _dead_! I _want_ to be dead!"

Kagura was surprised by Sango's reaction. Not sure what to do, she patted Sango on the back, and told her, "You'll be fine. And don't wish that you were dead. I know someone who would probably say that death is not a good way out."

"Who?" choked Sango. "Who said that?"

Kagura had to tell Sango about Naraku's plan, or at least some of it. "Rouge," said Kagura.

"Who's that?" asked Sango.

"Rouge is a demon, who was killed by Naraku. But she's not dead; Naraku used a jewel shard to bring her back. But, she's just like your brother. She has no soul, no memory, and the only things she feels are hatred and anger."

"Why did Naraku kill Rouge?" the taijiya asked, calming down a bit.

"Her parents tried to stop one of Naraku's schemes," explained Kagura. "God knows how many years ago that was. Naraku killed Rouge's parents when she was a little kid. She was raised by her mother's best friend, Cleao, who was also killed by Naraku a few years ago. And now, just weeks ago, Naraku killed Cleao's daughter, and Rouge's 'sister,' Ami. Then he killed Rouge's lover, Yokama, and his best friend, Damien."

"Naraku's so... _twisted..._" said Sango, her voice shaking. "I hope he dies. I hope he gets dismembered piece by piece!"

Kagura nodded in agreement. "Rouge is around here somewhere. If you see her, do not speak to her; don't even acknowledge her presence."

"What's wrong with her?" asked Sango.

"Nothing of her own doing," said Kagura, "But she is very dangerous. Rouge was once a nice, brave, loving young woman, but now, Naraku has turned her into a killing machine."

Sango leaned against Kagura's side, and stared ahead of her, at nothing. "Rouge can be saved. So can you. But not me."

"You have more hope than both me and that demon girl," said Kagura. "Naraku has Rouge's soul... and my heart."


	5. Sango vs Rouge

**Porcelain by Juul**

**A/N: Let me thank my three reviewers-- inudemonlover, Yumigirl06, and nathBella. Thank you ****all! Every little bit of feedback helps!nTo anyone who has taken the time to read this-- sorry for the ****long wait on updates! Also,nplease check out my good friend, inudemonlover's, stories-- she's a ****pretty good writer! From thisnpoint on in this story, thoughts will be in italics. Enjoy the story!**

**Chapter Five: Sango vs. Rouge**

Sango and Kagura walked around the perimeters of Naraku's castle. Neither of them said much. Sango was still in shock from what had happened to her the previous night, and Kagura was unsure of what to tell someone in Sango's position.

Kagura, who was walking in front of Sango, stopped walking when she couldn't hear the taijiya's footsteps behind her. The demon turned around.

Sango fell to her knees and looked down at the ground, her long dark hair partially covering her face. "Kagura," said the young woman, "it's not fair, is it?"

"Nothing's fair," was the demon's answer.

"Naraku just _has _to ruin everyone's lives, doesn't he?" asked Sango in a timid voice.

Kagura sighed and walked over to Sango. "What he did to you... that was just terrible..." Kagura felt very weird; she actually felt sorry for this girl. "I'm sorry."

Sango looked up at Kagura, with tears in her eyes. "Why should you be sorry? You haven't done anything!

"I know I haven't done anything, but I _am _a part of Naraku." Kagura kneeled down next to Sango.

"If you are a part of him, then how come you haven't killed me yet? How come you haven't killed Inuyasha, Miroku, or Kagome yet?" asked Sango.

Kagura was quiet for a few moments. "I used to want to kill them-- and you. But I really had no reason to. Besides, Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru, told me that I cannot defeat Naraku on my own. So, I decided to let Inuyasha and the rest of you live."

"Thanks," said Sango. "I have to know something, Kagura. Why are you helping me?"

Kagura looked around to make sure that Naraku, Kanna, nor Kohaku were around. "Because I can't defeat Naraku by myself, and I know you probably want to kill him more than anyone else."

Sango _did _want to kill Naraku. She wanted him to die the most painful death imaginable. Naraku had taken everything from her. He killed her family and village, had her little brother in his control, seperated her from her friends, and now he had taken the last little ounce of innocence that she had left.

After a long silence, Sango finally spoke up. "I'll kill Naraku. I'll get him. I'll kill him and free you, Kohaku, Kanna, and even Rouge! I'll kill him and save Miroku from the wind tunnel curse!"

Kagura managed a small smile at Sango's strong urge to get revenge. "Come on," said Kagura as she stood up, "let's go back to the castle. It's about sunset. We don't want Naraku to come looking for us." She held out her hand and helped Sango up.

Sango winced in pain as she stood up. Even though her wounds were healed, she still felt the pain. Kagura looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine, really," said Sango. "I won't give up so easily."

The demon and the demon exterminator walked into Naraku's castle. Almost as soon as they got in, they met up with Naraku. Naraku purposely bumped into Sango when he walked by them. Sango moved away in fear and backed up against the wall. Kagura gave Naraku a dissaproving look and folded her arms over her chest.

"Sango," said Naraku looking at her with a hint of lust in his eyes, "Kagura," he looked at the wind witch with annoyance. "What a coincidence that I run into the two of you. Follow me."

Kagura hesitated for a minute, but then bowed and followed him. Sango acted differently.

"No," said Sango in a nervous voice, "I'm not following you anywhere, Naraku." She tried to sound threatening, but it was useless. Naraku just took a step towards her.

"You will do as I say unless you want Kohaku to die." Naraku stated firmly. Sango's eyes widened in fear. "It's no problem to me if that boy dies. I'll just take the Shikon shard out of his back and it'll all be over."

"Fine," said Sango, going to Naraku's side, "Just don't hurt him! Please!"

"I won't, only if you come with me," said Naraku, walking ahead of Kagura and Sango.

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Naraku led them into his 'throne room'. "Sango," said Naraku, "let me ask you something." Sango opened her mouth to say something, but Kagura gave her a look that clearly said 'don't say a word.' "How was it?" Naraku smiled.

_Did he just ask me...? _thought Sango. She felt sick to her stomach. She wanted to tear him limb from limb, but restrained herself from doing so. "Horrible," was all the taijiya said.

The smile vanished from Naraku's face. "Very well then. Sango, I'd like you to meet someone."

_Oh great, another one of Naraku's freaks, _thought Sango.

Naraku snapped his fingers and called out, "Rouge! It's time to avenge your family!"

Coming in through the door from which Sango, Kagura, and Naraku came, was a demon girl. She had dark crimson-red hair and her eyes were a dangerous shade of violet. She was dressed in a black and purple kimono and had a strange marking on her forehead: a yin-yang that was in the shape of a heart.

"Yes, Naraku-sama?" asked the girl.

"Rouge," said Naraku, "you wanted to know who killed your sister and your lover..." He looked towards Sango. "And there she is."

"What the...?" Sango said to herself. She didn't kill anyone! She didn't even know this girl! Perhaps Naraku tricked Rouge just like he had tricked Sango into thinking that Inuyasha had killed her family.

Naraku threw a sword to Sango. It landed at her feet and she bent over and picked it up, not missing the chance to give Naraku a hateful glance. "You'll need that," said Naraku as he walked away, grabbing Kagura by her arm and leading her towards his throne. Naraku sat down and Kagura stood by his side.

"So," said Rouge, staring Sango in the eye, "it was _you _who killed my sister, eh?"

"I didn't! Don't even tell me that you'll believe Naraku--" she was cut off by fire erupting out of the floor on either side of Rouge, who was standing at the other end of the room.

"Lies, all LIES!" screamed Rouge, unsheathing a sword and charging at Sango.

Sango held up her sword in defense and a metallic clash was heard as Rouge's sword came into contact with Sango's. Despite the pain in her lower body and her legs, Sango still managed to hold her ground against Rouge, and she was pretty strong.

_So this was what Inuyasha felt like when he had to fight me? _Sango got Rouge's sword down and rammed into her shoulder.

Rouge stumbled back a bit and then gracefully held up her sword. "You think that I'm going to let the whore who killed my family live? You think that I'm going to go easy on you? Not a chance!" Rouge jumped into the air.

Sango looked up, expecting to see Rouge diving towards her, but the demon seemed to have dissapeared. "Where did she go?" Sango asked. She looked around, her sword held out in front of her, and backed up.

Before Sango could react, Rouge appeared behind her and wrapped her arms around Sango's chest, pinning her arms to her sides. Sango dropped her weapon.

"Stupid human," said Rouge into Sango's ear. "One of those guys you killed was my fiancee. He was going to marry me! And you killed him!" Rouge let the taijiya go and shoved her to the ground, then put one of her feet on her back. "Prepare to die, murderer. See you in hell!" Rouge went to stab Sango with her sword, but Sango rolled over onto her back and caught the blade with her bare hands, holding it only inches away from piercing through her heart. Sango and Rouge stared at each other for what seemed like hours; Rouge trying desperately to kill Sango, and Sango trying desperately not to get killed.

Sango was beginning to feel the stinging pain in her hands from the sword, and she felt the tip of it poking her in the chest. Rouge smiled evilly. "Why fight me?" she asked. "You know I'm going to win." Sango did the only thing she could think of-- she swung her leg out and kicked Rouge in the shin, causing her to fall over.

"What in the seven hells?" screamed Rouge, outraged. Sango jumped to her feet and grabbed her own sword and Rouge's.

The demon slayer walked menacingly towards Rouge, ready to tear her to shreds if needed. "Rouge," said Sango, "I know you don't know who I am, but I did _not_ kill your fiancee or your sister."

"You lying wench!" screamed Rouge, getting to her feet. Her long, sharp claws shot out of her fingers and Rouge held up one of her hands. "I'll reach down your throat and pull your fucking heart out."

Rouge charged at Sango once more, with her hands out in front of her. Sango held up both swords, one crossing the other, waiting for Rouge to come near. Rouge knocked both swords out of Sango's hands in one swift movement, then grabbed her by the front of her kimono and lifted her off the ground.

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Naraku smiled and stood up. He grabbed Kagura by her wrist and headed for the door, dragging her behind him. "Where are we going?" asked Kagura.

"Out of here," answered Naraku.

"But what about the demon girl and Sango?" asked Kagura once they were out of the room.

Naraku closed the door behind him and locked it. "They'll be fine."

"I don't know if you've noticed," said Kagura, "but, Rouge is going to _kill _Sango! We can't just leave her in there with that... that... killing machine!"

"And you care for what reason?" asked Naraku.

Kagura wasn't sure what to tell him. Now that she thought about it, she did care. A lot. "I don't care. But I thought that you wanted her around for a little longer."

"I just want to see how long she lasts against Rouge," said Naraku.

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Rouge threw Sango into a wall using only one hand. Sango got the wind temporarily knocked out of her and clutched her chest in pain. Rouge walked over to her and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to spit up a small amount of blood. "Tell me," said the demon, "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" Rouge slashed Sango in the side with her demon claws.

Sango slowly got up and grabbed Rouge by her throat. She pulled the demon closer until she could see directly into Rouge's eyes. "I will not give up. I will not let you kill me believing that you have avenged your loved ones, when I haven't done a damn thing to you." Sango threw Rouge into the wall and started hitting her and punching her repeatedly.

Hardly any of this even seemed to phase Rouge one bit. The demon just took it all in, not even bothering to fight back. After a few minutes of being beaten, Rouge chuckled and fell forwards. Sango backed away. Rouge's body started glowing an odd red hue. Then Rouge stood up and smiled.

_What in the hell is she doing?_ Sango jumped back a few feet and watched the demon.

Rouge jumped up in the air and let out a banshee scream. The red glow around her became more of a shield and then blasted away from Rouge, who just floated gracefully in midair. Sango turned and ran for the door. She would not die this way! Rouge let out a maniacal laugh and Sango screamed as she tripped and fell forwards.

Sango screamed loud enough to raise the dead as she felt a shocking pain overcome her whole body. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, and willed desperately for this pain to stop. It wasn't like a burn, or fire, but it was so hot that it almost felt cold, but there wasn't a scratch on Sango's body from the blast.

The last thing Sango heard before blacking out was Rouge's twisted, insane laughter.

**Tell me what you think!**


	6. Reading My Eyes

**Porcelain by Juul**

**A/N: I have made a cover for this story, it can be viewed through my deviantART account. ****Once again, I thank my reviewers and anyone else who's taken the time to read this story.**

**Chapter Six: Reading My Eyes**

Kagura stood outside of Naraku's throne room and heard a loud, pained, scream come from within the room. All was quiet for a moment. Kagura turned to Naraku, a look of sheer terror on her face.

"Naraku!" said Kagura. "What have you _done_?"

Naraku chuckled. "Kagura, I haven't done anything... this time. It was all that demon, Rouge."

"How could you?!" Kagura took a few steps towards Naraku and stood on her toes trying to get to eye level with him. "You raped Sango! You fucking raped her! And then you expect her to fight another one of your monsters! And to top all that off, you told Rouge that Sango's the one who killed her family! Then you made Sango and Rouge _fight_! And Rouge's power matches nearly that of _Inuyasha __and you combined_!"

"Why do you care all of a sudden, witch?" asked Naraku, shoving Kagura, causing her to stumble backwards.

"It's not that I care or anything, but you are just... just... so cruel!" Kagura unfolded her fan and held it up, partially covering her face so that only her eyes were visible. "Naraku, I'll kill you myself. I despise you. We both know that."

Naraku smiled at his rebellious detachment. "I'd like to see you try and kill me. You do any of your stupid spells or even wave that damn fan at me, I'll tear you limb from limb." Naraku then held up his hand and made a slight squeezing motion. Kagura gasped and fell to her knees, clutching her chest in pain. With that done, Naraku walked off down the hall, without another word.

Kagura laid on the ground for a moment or two. "That... abomination..." she muttered as she finally stood up. The wind sorceress walked towards the door to the room containing Sango and Rouge. Kagura opened the door, relieved that it was no longer held shut by dark demon magic.

"Sango," said Kagura, looking around the room. Sango was lying across the room on the ground, and Rouge was kneeling beside her. "Rouge," said Kagura, "Get away from her."

Rouge looked towards Kagura, her violet eyes glowing with hatred. "And I should do that for what reason?" asked Rouge.

Kagura walked towards the demon and the taijiya. She held her fan up in front of her face, reading to strike Rouge if called for. "The taijiya didn't kill your sister _or _your fiancee." Rouge raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Naraku did."

The demon girl looked away for a moment. "How do you know?"

"Naraku did the same exact thing to her." Kagura pointed towards Sango's unconsious form. "He told her that a hanyou called Inuyasha killed her whole village. Naraku stuck a Shikon shard in her back, so that she wouldn't feel any pain and would fight to the death. He's doing the same thing to you." Kagura kneeled beside Sango and Rouge.

All was quiet for a while. Kagura watched Rouge, prepared for anything that the demon might do in offense.

"Who will you believe?" asked Kagura. "I know I'm not exactly a good person, but I'm not anywhere near as evil and despicable as Naraku."

"Aren't you one of his detachments, witch?" asked Rouge.

Kagura felt sick with hatred and shame whenever she thought of how she was indeed one of Naraku's detachments. It was enough to make anyone feel sick, being of Naraku. "Yes, I am. But I despise him with all of my heart. Especially now. And I will stop at nothing to finally be free of him."

"Why don't you just run?" asked Rouge.

Kagura laughed darkly. "You don't understand, Rouge. Naraku has my heart."

Rouge nodded and then stood up. She looked down at Sango. "What's _her _story?"

"That's none of _your _concern. She can tell you. Ask her. But if _I _was her, I wouldn't tell a damn thing to someone who tried to kill me," said Kagura.

"I'll ask her if I want to," said Rouge. "Nobody tells _me _what to do!"

"I think it's too late for that. Naraku already did," said Kagura, a wicked smile forming on her face.

Rouge turned her head and glared daggers at Kagura. "Shut up, witch!" The demon then turned her attention to Sango. "Hey, you, taijiya! Get up! I gotta ask you something!" Rouge nudged Sango in the ribs with her foot, only to be hit over the head with Kagura's fan.

"You idiot!" exclaimed Kagura. Rouge took the offensive and unsheathed her sword.

"SOUL CRUSHER!" she screamed, jumping up in the air. Her sword glowed an eerie blue.

"Dance of the Dragon!" Kagura yelled, waving her fan. Dangerous swirling winds flew towards the demon. Rouge was knocked backwards by Kagura's attack, flew across the room and hit the wall, hard.

Rouge slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. She placed a hand on her left shoulder, which now had four large scratches on it, and blood covering the left sleeve of her kimono. Rouge slowly got up, walked over to her disarmed weapon, and put it back in it's sheath. Then she merely left the room, walking right by Kagura without a single word.

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_That demon, Rouge, is certainly one to be feared._ Kagura sat leaning against a wall in her room, looking out a window. Sango was sitting by her, now fully awake. Kagura had tended to her wounds and permitted the demon slayer to follow her around. Neither of them had spoken for a while.

Kagura decided to break the silence. "Taijiya?"

"Hmm?" Sango turned her head to face the sorceress.

"Are you alright?" asked Kagura.

Sango was silent for a minute. "I'm not sure," she said. "I just... I don't know. All of this is just so... overwhelming. I guess none of this has really sunk in yet." _I guess I'm just in shock or something. This is all like a nightmare, __a horrible, terrifying nightmare. I wish I could just wake up from this... hell, and be free._

What was she thinking? She couldn't take the easy way out! Sango just stared out in front of her, lost in her own thoughts. _After I defeat Naraku, I'll worry about all of this. I will not die until Naraku is dead! I won't give up! I __vow to free Kohaku, Kagura, Rouge, and even Kanna! _

Then Sango realized a new problem: _what would she tell Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku?_ She couldn't tell them about any of this. Sango knew that she couldn't. Besides, this was her own problem, they shouldn't have to worry about it, too. The taijiya thought for a moment about how Kagura was even drawn into this. Sango knew that Kagura wanted to help her, and she also knew that neither of them could do this alone. Neither of them could defeat Naraku on their own.

Eventually, Sango's thoughts drifted off to the previous night. She tightly closed her eyes, and willed for the tears not to come. That was possibly the worst night of her life, short of when she lost her family and her companions. Sango held her knees to her chest, and concentrated really hard on keeping her mind blank.

"Sango," Kagura finally spoke. She glanced over at the demon slayer.

Sango opened her eyes and looked at Kagura.

Kagura looked into Sango's eyes. The wind witch had never seen anyone so scared before. Even though Sango would never admit it, she was scared out of her wits. She acted as if nothing was bothering her, but Kagura knew that Sango was deeply troubled by all that has happened.

"You're not okay are you?" asked Kagura. "Don't deny it. I can tell by the way you look at me."

Sango shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and nervously gripped the sleeve of her kimono. _Am I really that obvious? _she wondered. "I don't feel sorry for myself, though," said Sango, looking away from Kagura.

"I know you don't," Kagura said. "You're a strong willed person. That's the main thing I don't get about you humans. Most of you don't give up easily, if at all. But any other human I've seen in my life would have snapped if they were in your position."

Sango turned around quickly and glared at Kagura. "I'm not sure if you've noticed or anything, Kagura," said Sango, her voice becoming less timid and quiet and more loud and confident, "But _I _will _not _give up! It will take way more than that to break me! Naraku can do whatever the hell he wants to do to me, but I won't give in! Naraku can send all of his monsters after me and I'll kill every single one of them!"

Kagura was impressed by this girl's strong will to fight. "Glad to hear that you still have the nerve to kill Naraku," she said.

They both smiled for a split second, but glanced towards the door upon hearing footsteps. "Is that--?" asked Sango, crouching into a fighting stance. Kagura held out her fan. It didn't sound like Naraku's footsteps, but you never know.

Walking past the room was none other than Sango's little brother, Kohaku. He walked by the doorway, pausing for a moment to look inside.

Kohaku looked from Kagura to Sango. He knew that Kagura was the wind demon that Naraku had created, and he didn't really mind her. But this other girl, Sango, he wasn't sure what he thought of her. Sometimes, when Kohaku would just sit in his room and think, when Naraku didn't need him to go destroy villages or fight, he remembered some things about her. Kohaku remembered the word, 'sister.' He didn't know why he thought of this word everytime he saw Sango. And sometimes he would dream about her; not just her, though, he would also dream of a village and people that all seemed to know him.

Sango looked at Kohaku, and she stood up. She reached out her hand. "Kohaku," she said, taking a few steps towards him.

She looked into his emotionless, brown eyes and for a moment, thought she saw something... was it a sign that he remembered her?

Kohaku looked up at Sango. She looked so sad, but yet happy at the same time. "Miss Sango," said Kohaku, "I don't know why, but I remember you from somewhere. And I remember calling you 'sister'. Do you know something about my past? Master Naraku won't tell me whenever I ask him."

"Oh, Kohaku!" said Sango, hugging her brother. "I wish you could remember me! And father! God, I wish you could remember everything!"

The boy remembered for a brief moment, who she was to him. He remembered seeing her run to him, but then she was struck by arrows. Then he remembered screaming, "Sister!" And running towards her, then the pain. Kohaku looked up at Sango, then put his arms around her. "Sister?" he said.

Sango burst into tears, and cried into his shoulder. "Kohaku! Do you really remember me? Do you?"

Kohaku thought really hard for a moment. "I think I remember you running towards me... and then getting hit with arrows. And I remember running towards you." He felt something that he had not experienced as far as he could remember. _Love._ Kohaku felt love for this woman, Sango, who seemed to know all of the answers about his past, and for some reason, Kohaku felt safe when he was around her.

Kagura couldn't help but smile at this touching moment. _I wonder if Kanna would be anything like this when she is free of __Naraku..._ Kagura quickly cleared that thought from her head. For two reasons. One, she would worry about that later. And two...

Naraku was standing in the doorway.

He chuckled evilly. "How cute. Kohaku? What are you doing?" he asked.

Kohaku turned around, startled. Sango stood up and put her arm in front of her little brother. "Stay away from him!" she said.

"Or else what?" asked Naraku.

Sango made a fist and went to punch him, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.

"Sister!" yelled Kohaku, running towards Naraku.

"Kohaku!" yelled Kagura. "Don't!"

Naraku struck the boy across the face with his free hand. Kohaku fell down and rubbed the side of his face in pain. "Now leave me alone, boy!" he said. Kohaku frowned at him, and Kagura walked over to help the boy up.

Sango tried to get out of Naraku's grasp, but couldn't. "You bastard!" she screamed, turning around. She kicked and hit Naraku over and over, screaming at him. "Never hit him again! Never!" Naraku let go of her, annoyed by being hit. As soon as he let her go, Sango pulled her fist back and then slammed it into Naraku's jaw, actually causing a tooth to come loose and fly out of his mouth onto the floor.

Naraku put a hand to his mouth and then looked at it. Blood covered his palm.

Sango smiled triumphantly and wiped her hand on her kimono. Naraku was not pleased at all by this.

"That's it!" he said, hitting Sango in the stomach and then grabbing her by her shoulder, dragging her out of the room. "You two!" he pointed a finger at Kagura and Kohaku. "Stay here!"

Kohaku got up to run to Sango's side, but Kagura stopped him. "No! Kohaku, don't do it! He'll only hurt her worse if we try to help!"

Sango tried her best to fight him, but she was still injured from her fight with Rouge. "You bastard! Release me! Now!" The taijiya just kept punching and kicking Naraku, which only pissed him off even worse.

Kohaku actually felt tears in his eyes. "Sister!" he screamed, reaching out and collapsing to his knees. Kagura shook her head and sat down next to the boy. Kohaku turned to Kagura and asked, "Where's he taking her? What's he going to do to her?"

Kagura didn't answer. He was just a kid. He didn't need to know what tragedy was about to befall his older sister.

"Answer me, Kagura!" Kohaku yelled.

The sorceress sighed. "Kohaku," she said, "that's not something I can tell you."

About fifteen minutes later, Kohaku and Kagura heard Sango's screams of pain echoing through the night. Kagura knew what Naraku was doing to her. But then again, it didn't take much to figure it out.

Kohaku's eyes widened in shock. He thought he knew what was going on. "No! Naraku! You monster!" He screamed, even though he knew very well that Naraku couldn't hear him.

"Sister!"

**A/N: Okay, I know this chapter is really long and I know that Inuyasha and the others haven't appeared for a while, but I'm gonna ****include them in the next chapter. Comment if you wish.**


	7. The Demon's Mercy

**Porcelain by Juul**

**A/N: In this chapter, Inuyasha and the gang return. And also, this goes a little deeper into Rouge's ****and Kagura's character, and Sango's thoughts.**

**Chapter Seven: The Demon's Mercy**

Inuyasha, Miroku, Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara trudged through the forest, in search of their friend. It had been about four days since Naraku had kidnapped Sango. They were all really worried about her; even Inuyasha was starting to show it. Kirara was scared, considering the fact that her owner had gone missing. Kagome tried tracking Naraku many times by sensing his jewel shards, but everytime she sensed jewel shards, it was always just another giant centipede, spider, or worm.

Miroku was more worried than anyone else. Sango was the woman that he actually, truly loved, and she was missing. Miroku tried not to think about what may have happened to her, but it was hard. The monk had a bad feeling that something horrible had happened to Sango.

"I'm telling you, Naraku had to have taken her!" said Inuyasha. "I know it! I smell Naraku all over her weapons! And she disappeared after she went after her brother!"

"We can't give up, though, Inuyasha!" said Kagome. "We'll find her, don't worry."

"Well, it's almost dark and I'm tired as hell," said Inuyasha, "let's go back to old Kaede's village. There's nothing more we can do today." He looked up at the reddish orange sky. Shippo jumped up on his shoulder.

"Inuyasha," said Shippo, "do you think Sango's okay?"

The dog-demon wasn't sure what to tell the young kitsune. There was no telling what Naraku could've done to Sango. "She's a strong fighter, Shippo. I think she's okay." He looked over at Miroku, who was kneeling down and praying. "Miroku?" asked Inuyasha.

"Please, just let her be okay," said the monk as he stood up. Somehow, Miroku knew that Sango was alright.

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Sango lied on the floor, her mind surprisingly blank. Naraku had just left her, after once again using her for his twisted desires. She had never felt so defiled... so _tainted._ But the one thing that bothered her the most was that no matter what, she would never be the same, and if by some miracle she would be herself again, it would take a really long time.

The taijiya put her hand to her face and touched the bruise that Naraku had given her. _How could I let him __do this to me?_ thought Sango, not even bothering to wipe away her tears. That bastard had taken everything from her... and she wanted revenge...

But how could she get her revenge when she was terrified out of her mind at the mere sight of him?

_This has got to be a fate worse than death. Either this or..._ She thought of Rouge and Kohaku, both being in Naraku's control. Kohaku, having no memory, and being used as a mere weapon until Naraku has no more need for him. Rouge, a victim of Naraku's lies, and being used as nothing more than a weapon of intimidation.

The more Sango thought about it, the more confusing everything became. If Naraku was indeed using Rouge as intimidation or a weapon, it had to be towards Sango in some way. They were a good match in battle, with Sango's skills as a demon exterminator, and Rouge's powerful yokai magic. But something about Rouge scared Sango... she was just like her; lied to by Naraku, and set up to kill someone else for something they didn't even do.

The shock was still there, but Sango knew that the amount of mental torture about to ensue was going to be immense. She always heard stories of rape victims being scared and extremely edgy for the rest of their lives. She couldn't go back to Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kagome like that. What would they think? Would they cast her out and abandon her? Or would they be overprotective and not let her fight anymore?

Sango slowly rolled over onto her side, wincing in pain. Before closing her eyes and drifting off into an uneasy sleep, the last thing she saw was the mysterious demon, Rouge, her creepy violet eyes shining in the dark as she stood towering over her, a sword in her hands.

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Rouge walked down the hallway, her pale face lacking any expression at all other than anger and rage. She thought for a moment of Yokama, her late fiancee. His smiling face when he asked her if she would marry him and bear his children.

"Hmmf! Get the hell out of my head! I can't let my stupid emotions take control of me!" Rouge slammed her fist into the wall. Another thing to nag the hell out of her-- that demon exterminator. Rouge had been trying in vain to get away from Naraku's damned castle, but she could barely find her way around the interior. "God, just what in the hell was Naraku doing to that girl anyway? All I've been hearing for the past hour or so is screaming! It's only been quiet for a few minutes!"

The annoyed yokai turned a corner and stalked down the hall, glancing towards any open doors, trying to see if anything useful was in the rooms. She heard quiet sobs coming from one of the rooms. Rouge, being naturally curious, walked towards the room and looked inside.

The taijiya was lying on the floor in a fetal position. She looked as if she had been through hell and back. _Weak humans, _Rouge thought, giving the girl a questioning look. _Might as well kill her now and put her out of her misery._ Rouge unsheathed her sword and walked into the room, towering over Sango's shivering form. The demon held up the sword and went to strike the miserable girl with it... but something stopped her.

Sango looked up at Rouge, a pleading look on her face. "I won't... give up..." she said in a raspy voice. With that said, Sango fell unconsious.

That look on her face. "Ami," said Rouge in barely a whisper. _Sango looks just like Ami! She looks just like my sister E__verything __except her eyes..._ Rouge felt tears welling in her eyes, but she hastily wiped them away and stomped out of the room, sheathing her sword once more.

_Maybe I'll let the taijiya live a little longer._

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Kagura sat on her bed, looking out a window. _I'd give anything to be free. Free as the wind. _She was beginning to feel even more hatred for Naraku than ever before. He was just so unforgivably cruel! Sango's screams had just barely stopped around ten minutes ago.

_By now Naraku should be in his room. Maybe I should go check on Sango, now. _Kagura got up and quietly walked out of her room and down the hallway.

The wind sorceress was pissed off enough as it was, but passing the fire yokai on her way didn't help much. She gave Rouge a suspicious glare as the demon continued walking right past her as if she wasn't even there.

Rouge stopped walking. "If you're wondering if I did anything, the answer is no. I'm just taking a walk. Leave me be, witch."

"I wasn't going to say anything," said Kagura, "but don't wear out your welcome with me. You haven't done anything to me, yet, but if you do, I'll show you no mercy."

"Who gives a rat's ass, anyway?" asked Rouge, facing away from Kagura. "As soon as I slaughter whoever killed my sister and my fiancee, I'm going to end my own life as well. After I avenge their deaths, there's no reason for me to stick around."

Kagura wasn't surprised at Rouge's words. "Very well, Rouge," said Kagura, "But try and listen to me, okay? Sango didn't kill them. Naraku did. I want you to think about that."

Rouge turned halfway, the shadows on her face making her look even more dangerous and ominous than normal. "I can't kill that taijiya anyway. She looks too much like my sister. So if she _did _kill my family, then I guess I'm not getting my revenge. But tell me more of this Naraku. Is he the one causing her to scream and keep me up all night?"

"Yes," said Kagura, leaning casually against the wall, "Believe what you want, but trust me, I want my own freedom from Naraku, myself. And if Sango did kill your companions, then how come she's trying to avenge her whole village's death? Three guesses who killed them all." Rouge narrowed her eyes at Kagura. "You know it. I know you do. _Naraku killed them, didn't he?_"

"Then how can I kill him?" asked Rouge. "You, being one of his incarnations, has to know something."

"I'm going to be completely honest with you," said Kagura. "I don't."

Rouge blinked at Kagura and then turned around, starting off down the hall. "I'll find a way. With or without your help. I want my own revenge."

Kagura shook her head. Rouge was such a nuissance. Although, she did seem to be of some use to kill Naraku. _Rouge spared Sango's life just __because she looks like her dead sister. Maybe she has a heart after all._ The wind demon walked into Sango's room and kneeled down next to her, placing a hand on her forehead. Sango winced at her touch, but remained asleep. Kagura began tending to Sango's many wounds.

"This is gonna be a long night," said Kagura.

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Sango awoke the next morning, surprised to find herself dressed and in her bed. _Kagura must have done this while I was asleep. I wonder __where she is?_ She went to pull the blanket off, but Kagura came into the room, and sat down right next to her.

"How are you feeling?" asked Kagura.

"Okay, I guess," said Sango.

"You're lying," said Kagura, "don't deny it."

Sango sighed and nervously rubbed her arm. "You're right. I'm not okay. And I'll never be okay. Even when all of this is over." Sango looked away from Kagura, remembering the previous night's events. "Why didn't that demon just kill me last night?"

"She said that you remind her of her sister. And if she killed you, that would be like killing her sister, which is definately against her beliefs." Kagura moved her hand up to scratch her neck, and Sango made a barely noticeable attempt to get away. "I'm not going to hurt you," said the sorceress.

Sango wanted to scream at herself so badly for that. "I know you're not," she answered quietly, "but after what Naraku did, I just... God, I don't know! I'm not even myself anymore! I was never like this before _him_. I hope that bastard rots in hell!" Sango leaned towards Kagura and started crying.

Kagura decided to try and comfort her, so she cautiously put her arms around the demon slayer. Sango tensed up at her touch, but remained still. "Don't give up. I know it's probably really hard, but you've gotten this far. Besides, I need you to help me get rid of Naraku... and Kohaku needs you to do that for him, too." Kagura wasn't all that bad. She just did Naraku's bidding so he wouldn't kill her, but an act of rebellion every once and awhile was tempting.

"Sango," said Kagura, "what did he do to you? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I just want you to know that you can talk to me."

Sango buried her face in Kagura's shoulder, trying to build up the courage to actually be able to speak about it. After an uncomfortable, prolonged silence, she finally spoke up, in a voice barely more than a whisper. "He... he beat me... and then he..." she felt a fresh wave of tears coming, and she could feel the numbness in her mind going away, being replaced with shame and sorrow. "... He touched me... and that's the most I'm saying..."

"Trust me," said Kagura, "Naraku's going to pay. Just wait. We'll all get our revenge on him soon."

**A/N: So how was it? Please review!**


	8. Points of Authority

**Porcelain by Juul**

**A/N: Thanks to my reviewers, even though I have few, but every bit of encouragement helps me improve ****my writing! I especially want to thank YumiGirl06 for being with this story from the start! **

**Chapter Eight: Points of Authority**

_You love the way I look at you_

_While taking pleasure in the awful things you put me through_

_You take away if I give in_

_My life, my pride is broken_

Kagura had explained the whole conversation to Sango that she had with Rouge. They both sat in Kagura's room; neither of them had said a word for a while. Sango was greatful that she didn't see Naraku during the day, but she knew that there was a good chance of seeing him every night. She just wished that she could see Kohaku more often; she hardly ever saw Rouge, and when she did, the demon never paid much attention to her; and she hadn't seen Kanna for a while, now.

It was completely silent, except for the blowing of the wind outside. The moon shined in from the window, giving both Sango and Kagura a ghostly appearance. Sango closed her eyes for a moment and thought about what her friends could possibly be doing. Especially Miroku. Somehow she could deal with his groping, causing him to stop at least for a day, with the usual slap across the face... but this was much different. Miroku was always joking around... but Naraku was serious, and it really disturbed Sango.

_What's he going to do when I do more than just slap him?_ Sango thought, pulling her knees to her chest and turning her head to look out the window. _They're not stupid! Even Inuyasha will notice something's wrong with me. This is __bad; really bad..._

Sango knew that the peace was too good to be true; that fact was proven when Rouge appeared in the doorway.

"Kagura," said Rouge, "Naraku wants you to send a swarm of yokai after some hanyou named Inuyasha." She turned to Sango. "Naraku wants to see you, taijiya."

Kagura nodded and left, leaving Sango alone with the fire yokai. No matter how much the wind sorceress didn't want to admit it, she had a really bad feeling about leaving Sango with Naraku, particularly this night.

Sango reluctantly got up and headed towards the door. Rouge stood in the doorway, unmoving and staring Sango straight in the eyes. "I must ask you something, first," said Rouge, looking at Sango with her emotionless, violet eyes.

"What?" asked Sango.

"Why is it that you have to haunt me by looking like my dead sister?" asked Rouge. "It's annoying."

Sango was reminded of both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru by Rouge. She had Inuyasha's temper and Sesshomaru's calm, cold voice. Perhaps she knew of them?

The demon and the exterminator walked down the halls in silence, Sango waiting for the dreaded night ahead of her. She could no longer stand to think about it, so she tried to start a conversation to get on good terms with Rouge. "Don't mind me asking, Rouge," said Sango, "but, what was your sister's name?"

"Why the hell does it matter to you?" asked Rouge, stopping and turning around.

"I'm just curious," answered Sango.

"Her name was Ami. She was a vampire demon. But she was obviously

killed..." explained Rouge, giving Sango a suspicious look.

"I'm telling you, Rouge," said Sango, "I would never harm someone's family. I may be a demon exterminator, yes, but the only things I've killed were giant spiders, worms, centipedes, and the occasional trap set by Naraku. You know, stuff like that. Please don't believe Naraku's lies! He pulled the same trick on me!" Sango gave the demon girl a pleading look.

"Dammit!" said Rouge. "Don't look at me that way! You look just like Ami! She gave me that look right before she died!"

_Rouge must have been really close to her sister. I'd hate to be there when she finally realizes that Naraku's the cause of all this. _Sango jogged a little bit to keep up with Rouge's pace. She stopped in front of her. "You really miss her, don't you?"

Rouge shoved the taijiya back. "Of course! Wouldn't you miss your sibling assuming you lost them?"

"I did," was all Sango said.

The angry look on Rouge's face vanished for a moment. "Damn. Sorry I said anything."

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After that, neither of them said a single word. They arrived at the door to Naraku's "throne room." Rouge opened the door and walked in, with Sango behind her, then she unwillingly bowed to Naraku.

"Ah, Rouge," said Naraku, "I see you've brought me the demon slayer. Just as I asked." He eyed Sango with lust. She cringed at this, but still shot him a hateful look. "Sango... do you want to see your brother?" Sango didn't say anything. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes," said Naraku.

"Kohaku! Come and say hello to your sister!"

Kohaku stepped out of the shadows, holding up his chain-sickle defensively. "Hello, Sango."

Sango's eyes widened at seeing her brother. Didn't he remember anything about the other night? "Kohaku!" she yelled. "Don't you remember me at all?"

"It hurts to remember," said Kohaku, throwing the chain-sickle at Sango.

She jumped out of the way, the weapon barely missing her. Upon reaching for her sword, she realized that it wasn't where it usually was. "Shit." The demon slayer looked at Kohaku, then stood up. "Please, Kohaku, don't fight me. Please, just remember me! Just once! You did for a moment the other night! What makes now so different?"

"It is no different." Kohaku threw the chain-sickle at her once more, this time hitting her in the shoulder.

Sango cried out in pain and fell to the ground, already in enough pain from the injuries Naraku had given her. "I can't fight you, Kohaku! Even though you're under Naraku's control, I still can't fight you! I won't!"

For the next good ten minutes or so, Kohaku fought against Sango. Sango merely dodged as many of his attacks as she could, not attacking him even once. Naraku watched in disturbed interest, a sick smile creeping onto his face after Kohaku finally decided that he won, and Sango fell, barely moving and covered in her own blood. Rouge just stood there, emotionless and still, watching everything happen as if it happened everyday.

"Kohaku, leave us now," said Naraku, getting up. "Go outside and wait for Kagura to come back." Kohaku nodded and silently walked out of the room.

Naraku stepped towards Sango, and crouched beside her. He gripped her chin in his hands, forcing her to look up at him. "You still choose to defy me. You still have the will to live. You still won't fight your dearly beloved little brother. That can only last so long." The demon chuckled darkly and then glanced towards Rouge, who was leaning casually against the wall.

"You're so sick, Naraku," said Rouge. "Don't mind me. Just stating my opinion." She put her hand on the handle of her sword, checking to make sure it was still there. "I'm leaving you with the slayer, Naraku. I can't stop you from doing whatever the hell you're going to do to her. If I'm needed, I'll be outside waiting for that witch with the brat." The demon swiftly turned and headed for the door, shutting it behind her.

Naraku raised an eyebrow at Sango. "She's got a lovely attitude doesn't she? Believe it or not, she was nicer when her family was alive."

Sango pushed herself up with her hands, so that she was in a kneeling position. "Naraku... why did you kill her family?"

"That's none of your business, girl. So stay out of it." Naraku put his hands on her shoulders, and pulled on the collar of her kimono, revealing her shoulders and the upper part of her chest. "I have plans for you. And that's the only thing that I'm telling you right now. You're still going to be punished for when you actually talked to Kohaku that one day. You triggered something in his memory. That shouldn't happen, and if it does again, he might remember everything. Then he'd be of no use to me." He tried to pull her kimono off of her shoulders completely, but Sango reached towards him on impulse and hit him across the face.

Sango knew that she'd be punished anyway; and hitting Naraku was definitely not going to make things any better. Naraku backhanded her across the face, causing her to fall over on her side. Naraku smiled and grabbed the back of her kimono, pulling it off of her so that everything from her waist up was exposed. Sango tried to cover herself with her arms, but Naraku just grabbed her by her wrists and pinned her arms to her sides. The demon stared at her for a moment, before laying on her and giving her an unwanted kiss.

The distressed taijiya managed to shove him off of her. She willed her body to move and get away from him, but she was in too much shock to do anything. Naraku grabbed her by her shoulders, digging his nails into her skin, drawing blood. Naraku lifted her up by about an inch, then slammed her hard into the ground. Sango felt the wind leave her lungs for a split second, then rolled over on her side, her arms folded over her stomach in pain. Naraku hit her in the side of her face.

"Fight me," he said. "If you can," he added shortly after. "Remember, Sango, that you are so insignificant. You are so low compared to me. You're not only that. You're _nothing_."

Sango tried to get up, but Naraku kicked her in the stomach and then slapped her across the face. "Not only are you nothing... but you are tainted. You let your whole family and village get killed. You let your little brother, whom you're supposed to protect, die. And now, that he is back, so to speak, you fight desperately to save him. When you can't even save yourself." Naraku stared down at her, nothing but lust in his eyes.

Naraku kicked her once more, then kneeled down next to her. Sango laid on her back, her eyes partially closed, her breathing heavy. "How can you protect your brother... when you can't even protect yourself?" Naraku asked coldly. He put his hands around Sango's waist, then pulled her kimono completely off of her, tossing it aside. The evil demon looked her up and down, his eyes traveling over her naked, beaten body.

"If I didn't have so much fun torturing you, I'd most definintely claim you as mine. But I find it's much more fun that way. You never give up; you refuse to be broken. But I can fix that problem," said Naraku, removing his own clothing. He postitioned himself on top of her, his red eyes staring directly into Sango's brown eyes.

Sango felt the tears coming, and didn't even try to suppress them this time. She whimpered in fear as she felt Naraku's bare chest pushing against hers. Naraku put one hand on her shoulder, the other wandering to her thigh.

"That's it, Sango," said Naraku, "go ahead and cry. Go ahead and cry your eyes out. In fact, go ahead and try in vain to kill yourself after I'm through with you. Because in the end, you know that you can't reverse any of this that's happened. It doesn't matter, because either way, you're fucked. If you kill yourself, you're pathetic soul will wander forevermore in darkness just like Rouge's, Kanna's, and your brother's. If you choose to live, you'll be haunted of this forever." Naraku raised his hand a little higher on her thigh, causing her to flinch and try to pull away, to no avail.

Sango screamed out in fear when she felt Naraku's hand go between her legs. Naraku laughed at her fear. "Why do you insist on resisting me? You know that you probably wish that goddamn monk would do this to you." He moved his hand away from her private area and then put both of his hands around her neck. "I could kill you just as easily as I could kill Kohaku. I could kill either of you right now if I wanted to. But I decided that I won't." He laughed coldly as he thrust himself into the young demon slayer's body.

Her screaming was heard throughout Naraku's castle. If one was near enough to the throne room, they would be able to hear the whole fight that happened. Everything from Sango's screams of torture to the sound of Naraku's hand or foot colliding with Sango's body.

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Naraku continued beating Sango for a good hour, after he had his way with her. Naraku struck her one last time with his sword, her blood splattering against his now fully clothed body. The demon smiled sickeningly at Sango, before hitting her as hard as he could.

Sango screamed and fell to the floor, the feeling of her naked, sore body hitting the hard ground not even bothering her. Naraku laughed, sheathing the sword and standing by the fallen taijiya, towering over her in an ominous, creepy way.

"Remember this, Sango," said Naraku, "you're nothing. _You're no one._ _I _am the boss. If you refuse to do what I say, I'll make sure that your beatings are more severe everytime you defy me, and I'll be more than happy to violate you worse than I already have. Nobody defies me. Not even you. I have authority over you. I have power over you. Remember that the next time you cross my path."

With that said, Naraku picked Sango up and carried her to her room. When he got there, he dropped her to the floor, leaving her to crawl into a corner and cry herself to sleep.

**A/N: I actually put some effort into this and focused a lot on the little details and such. So, how is this?**


	9. The Monk's Loss

**Porcelain by Juul**

**Chapter Nine: A Monk's Loss**

The dark, deep blue sky reminds people of many different things. For one, it might trigger a memory of a good time with a friend. But on the other hand, it may remind someone of being sad, and a feeling of loss.Unknowing to the rest of his group, Miroku had slipped away from their camp in the middle of the night. He was now sitting under a tree staring up at the sky and the moon, half-covered by dark, ominous clouds. Sango had been missing for a while, now... and Miroku was getting even more worried.

Ever since he first saw her, he had a feeling that she would be different from all the other women he met. Miroku had to admit, he _was _quite a pervert at times, but he never meant any of that. After all, Sango w_as _the most beautiful woman he had ever met. The more he thought about her, the more impatient he was to go off and find her himself.

_I just pray that she is alright, wherever she is. _Thought the young monk. Miroku shook his head and tried to distract himself from thinking of whatever torture or grief that Sango could possibly be going through. Instead, he remembered the happier times. Even if he did end up getting slapped in the end. _God, I'd give anything to be slapped by her again. __At least I would know she was alright._

Miroku felt a tinge of regret about all the times that he had groped Sango. He never thought that he'd lose her... especially like this. And to _Naraku _of all people. Right then, Miroku made a promise to himself:

_I know you can't hear me, Sango, but when all of this is over, I swear I'll never let anything happen to you ever again._

After this solemn vow, the monk tried to turn his mind off, so he could get at least a few hours of sleep. _I can't help it, _he thought, giving up, _no matter what, I can't stop thinking of her. I can't stop worrying about her. And I know that __I will not sleep at night until I know that Sango's safe and in my arms. _

Miroku yawned and leaned back against the tree. His eyes slowly began to close as a much needed sleep overcame him. _Sango, I'll save you..._

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"Wake up, you lazy monk!"

"Wha?" Miroku put a hand to his forehead and gazed sleepily at the sight in front of him. "Inu-ya-sha?" he asked.

"Who else could it be?" asked the impatient hanyou. "Where the hell did you go last night? Kagome, Shippo and I were really worried! We thought that Naraku had come and kidnapped you, too! Either that or you went off to look for Sango alone!" Inuyasha made a fist and stared at Miroku, impatiently, as the monk got to his feet. "Besides, you know that you can't take on Naraku alone! You even said that he's someone who can't be taken care of that easily! Why, I outta-"

"Inuyasha! SIT!" Kagome yelled over all of the hanyou's ranting. Inuyasha slammed face first into the ground. Kagome turned to Miroku as if nothing had happened, when really, this was nothing new. "You're worried about Sango, aren't you, Miroku?" she asked.

Miroku looked at the priestess and silently nodded. "Yes, Lady Kagome. I really hate to say it, but I'm worried about her.I really am. I know she's a strong warrior and all, but Naraku's just... really powerful... and who knows what he's capable of."

Inuyasha slowly got up and brushed the dirt off of his clothing. "Oh yeah? Well let's see how powerful Naraku is after I'm through with him!" He unsheathed tetsusaiga and lead the group onward on their journey.

Kagome sighed and trailed after him, Miroku by her side. Shippo jumped up on Kagome's shoulder.

"Do you think we'll be able to find Naraku's castle?" asked Shippo.

Miroku didn't answer, hoping that Kagome would. He just wanted all of this to be over, and everyone talking about it was really starting to piss him off. _I just hope Naraku and his freaks kept their hands off of her... _

But somehow, something inside of the dark recesses of his mind told him that he was wrong. Miroku hastily pushed the thought away. Something else was bothering him, too. It had been awhile since the group had seen hide or hair of Naraku. He hadn't even sent the saimyosho to spy on them. Miroku would be happy to even see Kagura. If he did, he would ask her about Sango. If she didn't tell him, or if something had happened, Miroku would be more than happy to kill the wind witch. That would be just one less of Naraku's freaks to deal with.

Cursing his family was one thing. Constantly ruining peoples lives was another. And messing with his one true love was the last straw. Miroku gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his staff. That's it, he would kill Naraku with his one two hands. _It would __be nice if we even ran into a swarm of demons. At least fighting them would take my mind off of things. _

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After what seemed like hours of walking, the group finally came to a halt. Inuyasha turned around and held up his hand.

"Wait..." he said. All was quiet. "I have a bad feeling that we're gonna have company. And it's not good."

Kagome grabbed her bow and placed an arrow on it, ready to strike anything that came her way. Shippo jumped off of her shoulder and stood behind her. Miroku held his staff in front of him defensively, and Inuyasha held out tetsusaiga.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" asked Shippo.

"I'm not sure, but I think that it's..."

As if on queue, a swarm of lesser yokai, such as giant worms, centipedes, and spiders, appeared overhead of the group. Appearing at the front of the group, sitting on her feather, was none other than the wind witch, Kagura.

"Long time, no see, Inuyasha," said Kagura, hovering on her feather closer to Inuyasha and the others.

"I see you have us a gift from Naraku," said Inuyasha.

Kagura frowned at the mention of Naraku's name. She got off of the feather and tucked it safely back in her hair. "Yes," she said, "if you can call it a gift."

Miroku couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. "Kagura!" he yelled. "Where is Sango? What has Naraku done with her?"

Kagura held her fan in front of her face, revealing only her blood-red eyes. "I will assure you, monk, that she is safe. But what Naraku has done, I cannot say..."

Miroku stuck his staff into the ground and ran towards Kagura. "What has he done to her?" demanded Miroku. He grabbed Kagura by the front of her kimono and stared at her, a dead serious look of anger and determination in his usually calm, blue eyes. "You will tell me whatever has happened to Sango. Don't even try and use that fan of yours. If you do, I'll break it into a million pieces."

Kagura was surprised at this. Usually Inuyasha was the aggressive one in that group. Kagura put her hand on Miroku's arm and gently pushed him away. The wind witch turned away from him, then looked back over towards him, an odd look in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but heard a buzzing noise somewhere nearby. She quickly took her feather out of her hair and jumped onto it. Upon hovering up above the trees, she said one last thing to Miroku.

"I cannot speak as of now, but if you want to know what has become of your dear taijiya, you'll meet me at the deserted slayers' village tonight. Don't bring anyone else." Kagura then watched the battle between the yokai and the hanyou, miko, and monk.

_Oh, god... that can't be good. I wonder what she was thinking about... _Miroku stared in disbelief at the wind witch, who soon dissappeared in the swarm of demons.

"MIROKU!" came a shout from his left. It was Kagome. "Look out!" Kagome shot one of her purifying arrows at the centipede demon that was attempting to attack him.

Miroku dodged out of the way and put a hand to the rosary beads on his right hand. He stopped himself before unveiling the hellhole embedded in his hand. The monk chuckled to himself.

"Miroku!" screamed Inuyasha, taking out several demons with tetsusaiga. "What the hell are you doing? Use your wind tunnel! I don't know about you, but I wanna have a halfway decent evening..." He spun around and sliced two more demons completely in half. "... and not waste it fighting a pack of vermin like this!"

Grabbing his staff, Miroku decided that he would use it to take out some of the demons. Miroku struck at three that were coming towards him. He jumped up and sliced two more in half. The monk landed in a fighting stance, then quickly stood back up and charged towards the yokai, attacking several with his staff.

"Hello, misplaced aggression!" said Miroku.

Inuyasha and Kagome stood in shock watching the enraged monk. Shippo jumped up on Kagome's shoulder. "What...?" started Kagome.

"I've never seen Miroku fight like this before..." said Kagome.

Shippo nodded in agreement. "I wonder why he didn't use his wind tunnel?"

Inuyasha looked at the kitsune and then ran towards what was left of the demon pack, slashing wildly with tetsusaiga. _Whatever's made Miroku fight like this, I'll __bet it has something to do with Sango._ Inuyasha smiled a little at the thought. He knew that somewhere within his lecherous mind that Miroku had a heart.

"INUYASHA! KAGOME! SHIPPO!" screamed Miroku. "Get back! I'm taking the rest out with one blow!" The others moved out of the way, and Miroku unveiled the hellhole. "WIND TUNNEL!" The remaining members of the yokai swarm were sucked into the black abyss, shrieking and screaming like mad. After the last one was swallowed up, Miroku fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kagome slowly made their way towards the monk. "M-Miroku..." said Shippo nervously. "I've never seen you... fight like that."

"Yeah," said Inuyasha, sheathing the tetsusaiga and holding out his hand towards Miroku. "What's gotten into you?"

Miroku blinked and then took Inuyasha's hand. The hanyou pulled him to his feet. Miroku walked over to his staff and pulled it out of the ground. "Nothing," lied the monk.

"It sure seems like a whole lot of nothing," said Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha!" said Kagome. "It's a good thing that he did all that! You should thank him!" She turned to Miroku. "So why did you decide to fight like that?"

Miroku closed his eyes and smiled a little. "Just taking out some of my frustrations."

Miroku _did _feel a little relieved. But the haunting truth that Sango was still missing kept nagging at the back of his mind. "Well," said Miroku, "it's about dark and I'm kind of tired. Do you think that we should set up camp for tonight? We've come pretty far."

The hanyou, kitsune, and priestess were a little surprised at this. For the past few days, Miroku was strongly against stopping, even for a moment. But they found it best not to question him. He had his reasons.

Miroku smiled, knowing that soon he would find out more about Sango's condition and whereabouts... or so he hoped.

_Can I really trust Kagura?_ thought the monk, shaking his head and looking off into nothing.


	10. Revelations

**Porcelain by Juul**

**Chapter Ten: Revelations**

Miroku paced back and forth, occasionally looking into the sky for any sign of Kagura or that blasted feather of hers. It had to be near midnight by now. Miroku sighed and put a hand to his forehead. It was getting pretty late, and he didn't want Inuyasha, Kagome, or Shippo to wake up and come looking for him. If they did, things might not go as smoothly as he hoped. Miroku knew he didn't have to worry about the two-tailed cat demon, though; Kirara had stayed in Kaede's village. The fire-cat seemed to refuse to go anywhere without Sango.

The young monk glanced behind him, thinking that he heard something. He didn't know why he was so paranoid all of a sudden-- perhaps it was because Sango was missing... or the fact that he was in a deserted, destroyed village, all alone. He was about to turn around and leave, but he looked up in the sky at the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair.

Kagura was indeed there. She had kept her promise, and didn't even seem to have any yokai swarms or saimyosho with her. Miroku was starting to think that maybe she wasn't as bad as she seemed, and maybe Naraku sent the saimyosho with her only to make sure she didn't do anything he wouldn't approve of.

She hovered gracefully down to the ground, and got off of her feather, tucking it safely back in her hair. "I see you actually trust me enough to meet me here," she said, raising an eyebrow at the monk.

Miroku nodded. "It's nothing about trust. You're just the only person I can communicate to Sango through. So, how is she?"

Kagura shook her head, slowly, meaning that something had indeed happened. "Well..." said Kagura. "She's alive..."

"Damn you, witch!" said Miroku. "My patience is running low, so you'd better tell me what happened or else I'll suck you into oblivion!" He clutched his right hand and held it up in defense.

"Calm down, monk... Miroku," said Kagura, finally using his name. Miroku lowered his defenses in surprise. "Like I said, she's alive. But she's not all that well." The wind sorceress nervously glanced up at the sky. "I'd better tell you as much as I can before Naraku realizes that I'm gone... But, anyway, Naraku's made sure that she's as uncomfortable as possible. And I'll just leave you with that. Sango's definitely worse for wear."

Miroku put a hand over his mouth in shock. "Wh- What do you mean?" he asked in a startled voice.

Kagura leaned against a hut and took out her fan. She halfway covered her face with it, not wanting to tell the monk the whole story. "Let's just say that you'd might want to keep an eye on her when she's free. I just wish that _I _could be free."

"No you don't," said Miroku, "you're completely loyal to that bastard, Naraku."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that..." Kagura folded up her fan and stuck it back into her robes. "I'm not as loyal as some might think. I really _do _want to be free of him..." She looked dreamily up into the stars. "And one day, when I am free of Naraku, I'll be free to love... free to hate... free to do whatever I please..." Kagura shook her head, snapping out of her daydreaming, then she pulled her feather out of her hair.

"Kagura!" shouted Miroku. "Don't leave yet! I'm not through with you!"

"I said that I couldn't stay long," said Kagura as she got on her feather. "I'll come for you, the miko, and that ignorant hanyou again soon... I'll bring help and we can all take down Naraku."

Miroku was so surprised at this. _I had no idea she hated Naraku this much. I always knew she was rebellious and __liked to piss him off, but I never knew she'd go to this extent..._ Miroku was a little relieved that Sango was okay, but the part about her not being "all that well" worried him. The monk was shocked that Kagura was actually willing to risk her life and help him and _Inuyasha_ of all people, defeat Naraku. And what exactly did she mean by "I'll bring help?"

Drowziness was starting to overcome his senses, so Miroku began the trip back to the camp he had set up with his friends. He was just glad that it wasn't that far away.

"Don't worry, Sango. We'll save you," said Miroku, "_I'll save you._"

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All was silent in the castle of Naraku. The only thing that could be heard at all was if you were in a certain hallway, where a certain demon was walking around. Rouge gritted her teeth and continued walking around, trying desperately to find a way out of this hellhole. She turned around a corner, and saw a balcony through a doorway. Not caring what would happen, Rouge walked through the door and stood there, looking out over the balcony and into the starry night sky.

_Is what the wind witch says true? Is Naraku really the one who killed my family? _Rouge sighed and stared out in front of her. Everything was quiet again, but only for a few moments. Rouge was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of screaming and crying, and the sound of rushed footsteps. She spun around and held her sword out in front of herself.

The taijiya came running through the doorway, right onto the balcony, screaming hysterically. She did not look all that good; she was holding what appeared to be what was left of her kimono in front of her, in attempt to hide her body; there was a bruise under her left eye, and a small trail of blood trickling down the side of her mouth.

The hysterical woman made a move to jump over the balcony, but something told Rouge to stop her. Rouge did the only thing she could.

"TAIJIYA!" she shouted, dropping her sword and walking towards the crazed girl. "Don't you dare jump!"

Sango looked at Rouge, with tears in her eyes. "WHY THE HELL SHOULD'NT I?" she screamed.

Rouge took another, more threatening step towards Sango. "I don't care or anything, but don't take the easy way out."

Sango made another move to jump over the railing. Rouge sighed and swung her arm out, swiftly hitting Sango in the side of her face. The demon slayer fell backwards, and onto the floor, where she lay shaking uncontrollably.

The fire demon stood over Sango, eyeying her with emotionless, violet eyes. Sango could no longer control herself. She crawled towards Rouge, and put her hand around the demon's ankle. Looking up into her eyes, she said, "Kill him! Please! Kill Naraku! I can't do it! I can't take this anymore!"

Rouge tried to keep her face free of expression, but all of a sudden she remembered something for a moment. And that one memory re-awakened something inside of her.

_Fourteen year-old Rouge sat leaning against a tree, watching Ami and her fiancee, Damian. Yokama sat beside her, his arm around her __shoulders. _

_"They're so happy, aren't they, Rouge?" asked Yokama._

_Rouge nodded and smiled at him. "Ami's finally happy, so I approve of Damian. She's never been so happy. I just wish that I could be that __happy..." the demon girl looked off, a dreamy look on her young, innocent face._

_The young demon boy looked away from her for a moment, blushing, then he summoned up his courage and turned to face Rouge. Yokama __held both her hands in his and looked into her violet eyes. _

_"Rouge?" he said._

_Rouge looked at him, surprised. "What?"_

_Yokama closed his blue eyes for a moment. "Rouge," he said, "I have to ask you something..."_

_"What is it, Yokama?" asked Rouge._

_"Will you...?" he sighed and decided to let it all out at once. "Will you marry me, Rouge? Will you marry me and bear my children, Rouge?"_

_Rouge slowly pulled her hand away from him. "Yokama..." she said. "...I'm so... surprised... Are you sure you want to do this?" The demon boy __nodded. "Yes! Of course I will, Yokama!" Rouge leaned into him and hugged him as tight as she could._

_Meanwhile, Damian waved to Yokama, giving him the signal that he was ready to leave. "Sayonara, Rouge," said Yokama, his face turning red, __as he turned and ran to his mentor, who smiled and shook his head. Ami walked slowly and gracefully towards Rouge._

_"So, little sister... what was all that about?" asked the bat demon, sitting beside her "sister."_

_Rouge blushed and said nervously, "What do you mean, Ami?"_

_Ami smiled and pulled Rouge into a hug. "You know exactly what I mean, Rouge." Rouge tried to get away, but soon gave up. "Yokama finally proposed __to you, didn't he?" _

_Rouge nodded and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah... I guess he did..."_

_Ami continued smiling at Rouge, her blue eyes full of concern held for her younger sister. "I approve of him. He's a good guy. Damian was just telling me __how crazy Yokama is about you."_

_"Now I know how you feel, I guess," said Rouge, laughing a little. "I feel kind of weird, though. I mean, I'm engaged now. It's sort of weird. But I think that's just __'cause I'm only fourteen."_

_Ami grinned at Rouge. "Rouge," she said, "I want you to have this." She reached for the sword that she always carried around with her. She handed both the sword __and the sheath to the younger demon. _

_"But Ami!" said Rouge. "That's your sword! What're you gonna do if you need it to fight with?"_

_"You need it more than me, sis," said Ami, "Besides, it was your real mother's sword. She left it to me to look after until you got older. I'm just giving it to it's rightful __owner."_

_Rouge took the sword from Ami, and unsheathed it. The handle was gold, with an amethyst jewel in the side. It also had her family's symbol on it-- a heart with __a ying-yang design on it; the same symbol on Rouge's forehead. Rouge looked up at her older sister. "Thanks, Ami. It means a lot. I'll never let it out of my sight. Ever."_

Rouge was jerked out of her memory. She couldn't let Sango kill herself! She probably had family that cared about her! All of that just dawned on Rouge. She picked up her sword, then looked at Sango. "I can't let her die... I won't let her die... She didn't kill my family..." Rouge tightened her grip on her sword.

"NARAKU DID!" screamed Rouge as she tore off around the corner, looking for any sign of Naraku.

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Kagura arrived at Naraku's castle only about an hour after her secret meeting with Miroku. She got off of her feather, and returned it to her hair. Something wasn't right.

Usually Kohaku and Rouge were waiting for her to arrive whenever she was gone. Maybe Naraku found out that she was gone? Kagura shuddered at the thought. Naraku would surely kill her this time... if he found out...

She heard a scream coming from inside the castle.

"NARAKU! WHERE ARE YOU?" screamed someone. Kagura recognized it as Rouge.

_Sounds like she finally realized the truth... _Kagura then realized with horror that the plan she was thinking about was ruined... She knew that Rouge was hellbent on revenge now. From the sounds of it, she was going to kill him right now. Kagura ran into the castle, looking desperately for Sango.

"Sango?" she asked, looking into her room. No one. The witch ran across the hall to her own room. "Sango?" she called once more. Kagura continued running frantically around the halls looking for the taijiya.

Kagura found her only moments later. She was laying on a balcony, shaking, covered by what was left of her clothing. "Sango!" said Kagura. She rushed over to Sango and kneeled down beside her. "Are you okay?"

Sango sat up and leaned against Kagura. "She's... she's going to... kill him..." said Sango in a raspy voice. "Rouge is going to kill... Naraku..."

Kagura gently helped Sango to her feet. "Listen, if you can..." she looked into the hall, searching for any sign of Kohaku, Kanna, Naraku himself, or the enraged fire demon. Not a soul was there, but Rouge's angry cries could be heard from a distance. "Sango, I talked to that monk, Miroku."

Sango's eyes suddenly lit up with hope. "You did?" she asked. Kagura nodded. "How is he? Is he okay? What about the others?"

"They're all fine," said Kagura, "But for now, we've got to go get you cleaned up and find Kohaku before Rouge does. I am a demon, and I do know that many demons, if they're angry enough, will kill anything in their path just to get what they want. And we don't want to risk your brother's life because that stupid fire demon can't control her anger."

Sango nodded. "Let's go," she said, attempting to walk on her own, "so what did Miroku say?"

"I'm going to go get him sometime soon. I'm going to go find him and the rest of your group, and I'm taking Rouge with me, and we're going to come back and fight Naraku together. I just need you to stay here and protect Kohaku."

"Why'd you wait so long to tell me about this?" asked Sango.

"I had to wait until Naraku sent me on an errand so that I could talk to the monk," said Kagura."I also had to wait for Rouge to finally realize that Naraku's the one to blame for her sister's death. She may be on a rampage now, but Naraku won't kill her. She's too powerful. She comes from a family of fire demons, and is the last one alive; her mother being killed by Naraku when she was only a child, and her father dying before she was even born. Naraku could use someone like that as one of his mind-controlled slaves."

"I thought he was already using her?" asked Sango.

"Not really. He was just testing her power. She still has some of her memory, unlike your brother," explained Kagura. "Of course," she added, upon seeing the look of dissappointment on Sango's face. "Naraku's spells can be reversed. It will just take a lot of time and patience."

"When are we going to go through with this plan?" asked Sango.

Kagura paused for a minute. "I'm not sure... but we'll have to wait a while. Naraku's going to be on edge for the next few days because of Rouge's little mood swing. I know it's not easy, but please hang on for just a little longer. You've got to save your little brother. I bet that he was once a good boy... until Naraku corrupted him. But he needs you now more than ever. You've got to be strong for him."

Sango let all of Kagura's words sink in for a moment. A look of determination set on her face, she nodded, earning a smile from Kagura. The demon and the demon slayer went into Kagura's room, and attempted to improve Kagura's plan to escape from Naraku, unknowing that at the exact same moment, Miroku was telling Inuyasha and Kagome of this plan and was deciding to keep searching for Naraku's castle.

**A/N: I know this chapter wasn't that interesting, but I promised myself that I would put more emphasis on Miroku's thoughts, and Rouge's past. Well, ****it's near midnight, and I'm tired, but I hope this was worth reading; I spent two hours writing it.**


	11. Kagura's Plan

**Porcelain  
by Juul**

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. Things at school, my 15th birthday, relationship problems, ****and all that good stuff. So here's the next chappie. Thanks to all of my reviewers and readers, you ****all give me inspiration to keep writing this.**

**Chapter Eleven: Kagura's Plan**

Everything was just happening so quickly it seemed. At least to Sango everything had happened so quickly. One day she was living happily in the demon slayer village with her father and little brother, the next, the whole village slain and Sango was left to fend for herself. She was strong, it wouldn't be a problem; but she had to avenge her family no matter what. Not so long after that, she became friends with Inuyasha and the others, and going on many adventures with them.

And now, she sat in a cell with Kagura, Naraku's rebellious incarnation, and Rouge, an unpredictable fire demon, in Naraku's castle, all against her will.

"Okay, let me go through this one more time," said Kagura, looking around to make sure that Naraku and Kanna were nowhere to be found.

"How you got me to help you and that mortal, I'll never know, but just so you know-- Naraku is mine!" said Rouge. "And let me out of these godforsaken chains!"

Naraku had chained Rouge up for trying to kill him. He used strong, dark magic on the chains so that even Rouge couldn't break them; Inuyasha would be able to, though. Sango was locked in the cell for talking to Kohaku what seemed like days ago. Kagura was in there because Naraku thought that she should keep an eye on the two of them.

"Be quiet," said Kagura, shaking her head in disgust, "We'll just leave you here if you don't stop nagging us. You're not my friend, and you're not my enemy. Whether you live or die makes no difference to me." Rouge shot her a nasty look, then eyed Sango with annoyance. "Now, since I'm no longer going to be interrupted, our plan. I told the monk that I would take this wench with me and the two of us would help him, Inuyasha, and the priestess fight Naraku. When Naraku comes to let any one of us out of this cell, we're going to lay low all day, until nightfall... That's when Rouge and I will escape."

Kagura noticed a slight look of fear in Sango's eyes. "Sango," said the wind sorceress, "you have to put up with him just tonight. We'll come back. As soon as Naraku leaves you, you must find Kohaku and get out of here."

"Oh for the love of--" Rouge started.

"Stifle it," Kagura said.

"Why can't we just all get him when he comes to get one of us? It would be a hell of a lot easier!" said Rouge, once again trying to break her chains.

Kagura pulled her fan out of her kimono and held it up, lazily, as if this was nothing. "I'm really sorry, Rouge, but you're really starting to annoy me..." She waved her fan carelessly and said, "Dance of Blades!" Rouge instantly had cuts all over her body, now.

"I'll kill you for that, witch," said Rouge, through gritted teeth.

Only moments later, footsteps were heard, then the opening of a door. Surely enough, it was Naraku. Sango gasped in fear and backed up into the corner of the cell. Naraku casually walked towards the cell and unlocked it. "Ah, Kagura," he said, "I see that you've proven to be of _some _worth after all. Doesn't look like the demon gave you much trouble."

He looked at Sango out of the corner of his eye. "I suppose I can let you all go now... as long as this one doesn't try to kill me again." Naraku eyed Rouge with hatred, obviously she had pissed him off a great deal by trying to kill him.

Kagura unwillingly bowed to Naraku, "I am truly sorry for disobeying you, Master Naraku." God, she hated saying that.

"You all may leave now. Just don't try to escape, as I assure you it is nearly impossible. I've put up a very strong barrier around this castle; to keep hostages and servants in, and to keep troublesome hanyous, priestesses and monks out." Naraku stood by the cell's opening, letting Rouge and Kagura pass by him. Sango tried to pass him as quickly as possible, but he grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

"Get away from me, you bastard!" Sango pushed him away.

Naraku chuckled darkly and grabbed her roughly by her arm. "Be expecting me, tonight. If you are not in your own room, I _will _find you and I'll make sure that tonight's visit is particularly painful." Naraku shoved Sango away from him and watched her as she went up the ladder to the ground floor, following Rouge and Kagura.

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"So we're going to meet up with that wind witch and another one of Naraku's little incarnations around sunset tonight?" asked Inuyasha.

Miroku sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "For the last time, yes. And she said she wasn't bringing another incarnation. More like Kohaku from what she said."

Shippo had been a little jumpy all day. The thought of going to Naraku's castle with _Kagura _of all people really creeped him out. "Are you sure Kagura said _tonight?_" asked the kitsune.

"Yes, Shippo," said Inuyasha, impatiently. "Why? You scared?"

"Wha-? No!" yelled Shippo.

Inuyasha dissappeared for a moment, then jumped up behind Shippo. "BOO!"

Shippo screamed and jumped from the rock he was sitting on to Kagome's shoulder. "Inuyasha! Don't do that!"

Inuyasha laughed. "Well, you seemed a little scared... It's only Naraku. He'll probably return Sango without doing anything rash, then he'll take his incarnations and run away like he always does."

"He'd better let us have Sango back!" said Miroku, a little more threatening than he meant to. "If he's done anything, I mean _anything _to harm her, I'll personally rip him limb from limb myself..."

Inuyasha blinked at Miroku. The hanyou turned to Kagome and whispered into her ear, "Woa, he's serious isn't he?"

Kagome nodded, then looked up at the sky. "It's almost sunset. We should get going. Where are we going to meet them again?"

Miroku picked up his staff and started heading in the right direction. "I don't know why, but Kagura said to meet her in the demon slayer's village."

"Wait a minute, Miroku!" said Inuyasha. "What if it's another trap? I mean, if it wasn't, wouldn't they bring Sango with them?"

Miroku stopped for a moment, then turned to face the others, who were a good ten feet away from him. "What have we got to lose? I'm going to save Sango no matter what it takes. You don't have to come, you know." He continued walking.

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha by his arm and ran after Miroku to catch up with him. "Wait! Miroku! We're coming with you!"

Shippo about fell off Kagome's shoulder when she started running, but he held on to the back of her shirt. "Oh, I'm just a kid! Why do I have to go to Naraku's castle?" Inuyasha frowned at him. "I mean," said the fox, a little nervously, "I'd _love _to go to Naraku's castle..." Miroku led the way to the demon slayer's village.

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Sango nervously looked out the window from in her room. She was not particularly looking forward to this... but she had no choice. This could be her only chance at getting away from Naraku's castle.

And more importantly, her only chance at saving Kohaku.

Kagura got up from her place beside Sango, and looked down at the demon slayer and the fire demon. "We should go. It's nearing sunset." Upon hearing these words, Sango felt the muscles in her chest tighten a bit, and an uneasy look appeared on her face. Rouge sighed and stood up. Kagura took note of the uncomfortable look on Sango's face.

"Sango," said the sorceress, "you _do_ remember where Kohaku's room is, right?" Sango nodded. "Come on, Rouge." Kagura walked towards the door, Rouge running out ahead of her, and looking for any sign of Naraku.

Sango looked at Kagura, willing herself not to cry. "Kagura," she said, "I'm not sure if I can do this..."

"You can," said Kagura, actually smiling at the taijiya, "You have to. For Kohaku. For yourself." Kagura winked at Sango, and said, "For Miroku. He seems like he cares a lot about you." Kagura glanced at Rouge, and the demon girl gave her a confused look. "After you hear us arrive, and Naraku leaves you, go find Kohaku and meet us outside."

Sango nodded and tried to set a more determined look on her face. She actually felt like she could take this. That is, until she could no longer hear Rouge or Kagura's footsteps. "I can't do this," she said to herself in barely more than a whisper. "Miroku, Inuyasha, please hurry up. Please..."

The young woman's pleas and prayers were cut short, for about ten minutes after Kagura and Rouge left, there stood Naraku in the doorway, a slight bulge in his pants and a wicked look on his face, his ruby red eyes shining with lust.

"Sango," said the evil yokai, "I told you I'd be seeing you tonight... I see you were a good girl and stayed here..." He walked over to Sango, who had backed up into a wall. Naraku put his hand around her neck. "If you had run off, I'd have to find you and..." He made a swift motion as if he was going to break her neck.

Sango tried not to show Naraku any signs of fear, but her constant reminder of why he was here kept biting at the back of her mind. "What do you want with me, Naraku?" she asked, trying to put as much authority into her voice as possible.

"Don't play dumb, wench," said Naraku, stroking the side of her face with one hand, the other resting on her waist. "You know why I'm here... why are you so tense? _Are you scared, dear Sango?_"

"N-No!" stammered the taijiya, trying so hard to push Naraku away from her. Once she managed to do so, she dashed over to the bed, and reached under the covers, holding up a dagger that Rouge had left her. "You may have already... tainted me... but I won't allow you to touch me again! I'll fight to the death before I let it happen again!"

Naraku shook his head in amusement. "That's it? That's your scary, threatening weapon?" Naraku stood completely still. "Try it. Go ahead. You know you want to stab me."

Sango felt her heart beating faster with every passing second. Soon enough, despite her fears, Sango ran towards Naraku and stabbed him in the stomach. She pulled the dagger out of his body, sickened by the feeling of blood-- _his blood_-- dripping down her arm and off of her hand. Sango dropped the dagger and stared at her bloody hand in shock.

_She just stabbed Naraku._

Naraku acted as if he didn't feel a thing! He merely stood there and stared at Sango, that creepy, lustful glare never leaving his face. Sango looked up at him, her entire body shaking as she hastily wiped some of the blood on her kimono.

They both stayed that way for a while, until Naraku finally lunged at her, finally catching her off guard. He grabbed her around her throat with one hand, lifted her up a few inches off the ground, and slammed her against the wall. With his other hand, he slapped her across the face.

"Nice try, Sango," said Naraku, staring her in the eyes, his nose barely touching hers, "Good luck trying to kill me. You'll need all the luck you can get..." Then he dropped her.

Sango decided to get it over with and attack him once more. She jumped up and high-kicked him in the jaw, actually hard enough to knock out one of his fangs, and knock him over. Sango leaned back against the wall, surprised at what she had done. Naraku looked a little shocked himself. He looked to the floor and saw his own fang lying there. Then he put a hand to his mouth and drew it back, seeing a drop of blood on his fingertips.

The demon slayer took this as her chance and kicked Naraku once more in the face. It took him a minute, but he reached out, trying to grab her by her legs. Sango jumped back on instinct and crouched in a fighting postion a few feet away from him. The demon and the slayer stared at one another for a moment, until Naraku made a move to attack her. Sango made a mad dash for the dagger, no longer caring how bloody it was.

As soon as she grabbed the dagger, Naraku landed on her, turning her over onto her back and facing her. Sango held up the dagger in defense, but Naraku grabbed the blade, not caring that his own hand was getting deeply cut.

"You can't keep this up forever," said Naraku.

_Please hurry up, Miroku... Please... _thought Sango.

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Kagura and Rouge flew over hundreds of tree tops, on Kagura's feather. Rouge was complaining almost the whole way there, and Kagura was about ready to just throw the demon girl off. It was hard enough breaking the barrier around the castle to get out, and Rouge was not helping. The only reason she hadn't killed the girl herself was because she could use her help in escaping Naraku's clutches.

"God," said Rouge, "Where are we going? Oh yeah! I remember now! The imaginary demon slayer village to meet up with an imaginary monk and his imaginary friends!"

Kagura gritted her teeth and elbowed Rouge in the ribs, in annoyance. "Shut up!" To her relief, she finally found the village. "Look," Kagura pointed to the village, "There it is."

Rouge scoffed. "Took long enough."

Kagura flew the feather down lower and lower until they were a safe distance from the ground. She jumped off, followed by Rouge. Her feather fluttered through the cool breeze, and finally landed in her palm. Kagura placed the feather safely back her hair, then eyed Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and that little fox they traveled with.

"Yo," said Kagura.

"'Yo' yourself!" said Shippo.

Rouge glared at Shippo. "Cute fox."

"Who the hell is this?" asked Inuyasha, sniffing the air, trying to pick up a strong scent of Naraku (other than Kagura). "Feh. She doesn't smell anything like Naraku."

Rouge unsheathed her sword and held it gracefully in front of her. "Don't ever confuse me with Naraku! That bastard killed my sister! I am Rouge of the Fire Demon clan, and I am going to help kill Naraku, so I can finally avenge my sister, fiancee and brother."

"Is Sango alright?" asked Miroku. "Have either of you seen her?"

"The taijiya?" asked Rouge, raising an eyebrow. "Yes. She's fine. She's still at Naraku's castle, buying us time."

Miroku didn't look pleased at this, so Kagura decided to explain.

"Look," said the wind demon, "I know you don't trust me-- any of you-- but please just trust me this one time. I want to be free of Naraku... _forever_. And I cannot defeat him alone. Nobody could." _Except Sesshomaru._ Kagura smiled at her own little opinion on the subject. "I can help you defeat him, though. I really hate to say this, but if we band together, we can probably get him."

"She has a point," said Kagome, "Even with Sango and Kirara, we've all had trouble in battling Naraku. He's not an oppenent one should be willing to take on alone."

Inuyasha smirked at Kagome's words. "I could defeat him by myself. I know I could, but I guess you guys should help. After all, we all want our own revenge against this bastard."

Kagome knew that Inuyasha really meant that he did need their help, but she decided not to say anything.

"Enough talk!" said Miroku, impatiently. "Which way is it to Naraku's castle?" he asked.

Kagura smiled wickedly. "It's about time somebody asked. Follow me." Kagura walked toward the exit of the village and got on her feather.

"And you expect me to walk?" asked Rouge, a scowl on her face.

"It wouldn't kill you, you know," said Kagura. Rouge raised her sword and Kagura raised her fan before the other demon could do a thing. "Dance of Blades!"

Rouge fell backwards, more tears on her kimono and more cuts on her face. She got onto the feather with Kagura. "Have it your way, then."

"You will be able to see us, right?" asked Kagura, obviously to Inuyasha and the others.

The half-demon nodded. "I guess I'll take Kagome. Miroku, you take Shippo." He looked up at Kagura, "No tricks, Kagura?"

Kagura bowed her head a little. "You have my word, Inuyasha."

Then the odd group went on their way to Naraku's castle... and hopefully saving Sango.

**A/N #2: Okay, this chapter is a little longer than I intended, so I will post Chapter 12 really soon, possibly Friday or Saturday, since it basically ****continues almost exactly where this one left off. Hope this chapter was good! It took me two days to write, and I put my best work into this one. ****Review please! Feedback is always appreciated!**


	12. Of Battles and Spells

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: Promised to post this chapter on Saturday, so here it is. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twelve: Of Battles and Spells**

Sango fell to the floor, Naraku having stabbed her in the shoulder, with the same blade that she had indeed stabbed _him_ with. Naraku looked down at her, a smug, cruel smile on his pale face.

"You are so weak, Sango," said Naraku, "Admit it. Even though you still don't know when to quit, you still fall so easily. It's so easily to toy with your mind. It's so easy to mess around with your emotions."

Sango looked up at him from her place on the floor; the amount of hatred for Naraku that Sango had was enough to fill the entire room with an uneasy presence. "N... Naraku... I will not be at rest until... you are DEAD!" Sango forced her body to get up and she ran at Naraku, punching him as hard as she could across the face.

Naraku stumbled back in surprise. This wench just did _not _know when to quit! He had slaughtered her whole village, _her whole family_, kept her little brother imprisoned under his spell, and forced himself on her more than once... yet she still refused to be broken.

Their battle waged on and on, and with every passing second, Sango felt more and more helpless. She had lost an immense amount of blood, and her body was covered in cuts and bruises, not to mention that her shoulder now had a gaping hole in it. They had been fighting for what seemed like hours, when finally Sango heard an explosion from outside in the courtyard.

Naraku looked towards the direction of the explosion. "What the hell?" Then he was gone in an instant.

_Thank god. _Sango laid on the ground on her stomach, her eyes beginning to close, her tired body getting the better of her.

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While Sango was keeping Naraku occupied, her friends had made it to Naraku's castle, Inuyasha easily breaking the barrier around it with the tetsusaiga.

"Naraku! IT'S OVER!" screamed the hanyou, ready to tear the bastard limb from limb.

"Be on your guard," warned Kagura, holding up her fan in front of her. Miroku held up his staff, Rouge and Inuyasha their swords, and Kagome held up her bow and arrow. Shippo stood in a defensive position by Kagome's feet.

Rouge looked around, for any sign of Naraku at all. Finally growing impatient, she screamed, "SHOW YOURSELF YOU LOWLIFED BASTARD!" Rouge slammed her sword into a nearby wall of the castle, the wall blasting to pieces.

Naraku's evil laughter was heard throughout the courtyard, though he was nowhere to be seen. "You all have finally found my castle... I suppose you want a duel, now."

"Enough games, Naraku!" said Kagome. "Show yourself!" _Wait a minute... Naraku has jewel shards... _She looked around, finally sensing some jewel shards from behind a wall that was on her right. Kagome turned quickly and shot an arrow at the wall, causing a huge explosion.

Naraku walked out of the smoke and debri, a few moments later. His walk seemed so calm, but the look in his eyes was nothing but surprise. "I congradulate you all on finding me..." He saw Kagura and Rouge standing beside Inuyasha and Miroku. "Kagura, Kagura, Kagura... I had a feeling that you'd betray me again... Rouge..." Rouge stared at him, baring her fangs. "... Don't even get me started on you."

Kagura tried her best to remain calm, she knew very well that Naraku could end her life at any moment. He could easily take grasp of her heart and crush it, the second he willed it to happen. "Kagura," said Naraku, "don't forget that I still hold your heart in my hands... I can still kill you..." He waved his hand in an odd motion, and Kagura's heart appeared in his palm.

The wind sorceress looked at her creator in fear. "DANCE OF BLADES!" she screamed, sending several strikes towards Naraku. Naraku merely dodged the attack and gave Kagura's heart a squeeze. The demoness fell to her knees, her hand on her chest and her fan falling to the ground. "... sick... bastard..." Kagura whispered.

Naraku got that cruel smirk on his face and gave her heart another more painful squeeze, this time causing Kagura to lay on the ground in a fetal position. She was definitely going to be killed now.

"Oh my God.." said Kagome in shock. "She's... _dying._"

Miroku was too pre-occupied with trying to think of where Sango was to really notice what was going on. But he thought it would be best to save the wind sorceress first. She seemed to know a lot about Sango's condition and whereabouts. "Inuyasha!" said the monk, "Get Naraku with the wind scar!"

_If I don't do something, Kagura will die... She's not exactly a friend, but she's not exactly an enemy either. _Inuyasha looked at his blade, trying to make up his mind. _She hates Naraku enough to defy him to save all of us... _"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha slammed tetsusaiga onto the ground, sending waves of light towards Naraku and causing the ground to split in many places. Naraku flew backwards and into the castle wall.

Everyone watched where Naraku had went, all preparing for any tricks he had up his sleeve.

"I'll get him," said Rouge, walking cautiously towards the debri and rubble where Naraku should be.

Kagome and Shippo ran towards Kagura. Kagome kneeled down beside her, placing a hand on the demon's shoulder. "Kagura!" said the miko. "Are you alright?"

Kagura opened her eyes. The pain in her heart was gone... for now. She looked up and saw Kagome and Shippo. "Yeah... I'm fine..." Kagura picked up her fan, then got to her feet. "Why do you care?"

Shippo jumped up o Kagome's shoulder. "You helped us find Naraku!"

Kagura smiled, then looked towards the entrance to the castle that Sango was supposed to come out of with Kohaku.

_Where is she? _Kagura wasn't sure how much longer they could fight Naraku before he realized that it was just another diversion.

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Sango opened her eyes and pushed herself up on her hands and knees. She didn't feel too well. "Ugh... what happened?" The taijiya put a hand to her forehead. Then she remembered. She had to save Kohaku!

The demon slayer slowly and painfully got to her feet and left the room, hurrying to the other side of the castle, where Kohaku's "room" was. She had pocketed the dagger, just in case any unwanted company arrived. Sango knew that she had to hurry; the blood loss was taking it's effect on her fast. Despite that, she still had that hole in her shoulder, and there was still pain in her abdomen and her legs from the abuse that Naraku had put her through over the past few nights.

Trying to keep her footing and her balance was getting a little harder, but she could manage. A few doors down from where Kohaku's room was, however, there was a set of blood-red doors there that caught Sango's interest. There seemed to be a strong presence coming from behind those doors... Sango wasn't sure whether it was good or evil. Then she remembered... those were the same doors that she had seen earlier.

And Kagura had told her not to go in them. Why?

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sango slowly made her way towards the doors. She timidly stuck her hand out towards them, and to her surprise, the doors opened on their own. Stepping inside the room, Sango noticed that it was nearly pitch black, with the exception of a blue light at the far end of the room. Sango looked around in curiosity and was startled when she heard the doors shutting on their own.

Sango gasped and turned around. Nobody was there. She was relieved temporarily. Then a horrible thought struck her: What if she couldn't get out?

_Well, _thought Sango, _Naraku needs to get in and out of here, so I guess I'm not locked in. _She walked around the room, hearing a faint noise in the corner of the room. She made her way towards it. It sounded like something was beating. If it was a creature, it was indeed very small. Something told Sango that it wasn't a creature that made that noise at all. She stopped upon seeing a shelf in front of her. There were two canopic jars sitting on the shelf. Both had odd designs on them, and that strange beating noise seemed to be coming from the jars.

One of the jars had a striped pattern of maroon and white, with a blue feather-like design on the lid. The other was all white, with the exception of a pattern of black flowers going all the way around the middle. Carefully, Sango put her hand on the lid of the jar with the feather-like design on it. She quickly opened the jar, about dropping the lid as soon as she saw what was in there.

_It was a heart. _

Sango didn't know whether to be sick or scared. But then she realized something: This must be Kagura's heart. The shocked girl gently placed the lid back on the jar, feeling herself go a shade paler. Then her attention was turned towards a doll of some sort that was lying beside the two canopic jars.

The doll appeared to be wearing a piece of light blue cloth and had a few hairs tucked into the cloth... _real hairs. _Sango couldn't tell if it was human or demon, but there was also a piece of paper wrapped around the doll's middle. The paper had some messy writing on it. She could barely make out the words.

_If this spell scroll should be removed, the Spell of Binding Obedience shall be lifted from it's victim. _Sango thought for a moment. Who was it that Naraku had under one of his stupid spells? Rouge and Kohaku. Sango had seen golems and all other sorts of voodoo and dark magic items before, this was no different.

Sango picked the doll up, taking a better look at it. She plucked one of the hairs from under the blue cloth and closely examined it. It was a strand of dark brown hair, and it wasn't too long.

Rouge's hair was red.

_Then that means... _thought Sango. "Kohaku!" She had finally figured out how Naraku kept his control over Kohaku. Naraku was using a demon voodoo doll on him and attached a binding spell to it, which made Kohaku obey him. Sango had only dealt with one of these once, and already knew what to do.

Sango untied the spell scroll and ripped it to shreds, the pieces falling to the ground, where she stomped on them. Then she carefully removed the hairs and cloth from the doll. Having removed the spell scroll and any trace of her brother from the damned thing, Sango pulled the dagger out of a pocket in her kimono and sliced the voodoo doll in half.

Hoping that the voodoo doll was the only thing binding Kohaku to Naraku's orders, Sango once again turned her attention to the blue light. Making her way cautiously and slowly towards it, she finally figured out what it was. It appeared to be a girl, no older than Sango herself, floating in mid-air, a blue light surrounding her. Once Sango was a little closer, she noticed that this had to be a soul. Even closer, she recognized this girl as being...

None other than Rouge.

Sango then realized something. If Naraku's had Rouge's soul all along, then that meant that Rouge was only acting according to her logic. Her motives to avenge her sister's death were only present because it was instinct. Nearly anything would avenge it's fallen clan members. This would also explain why Rouge appeared so cold and heartless, and oblivious to Naraku's plans at first. Sango stepped towards the soul, reaching her hand out and touching it.

Surprisingly enough, the girl's eyes opened. She looked at Sango, causing Sango to stumble backwards in fright. "My sister..." said the girl, no longer floating in mid-air, "What has happened to her?" The girl was silent for a moment. She then appeared to have remembered something, the tears welling in her eyes giving it away. "He... he killed her... Ami... Yokama... Damian..." She was silent, then looked at Sango.

"You know who I am, right?" Sango nodded, still afraid to move. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. I know who you are. You're Sango, the demon slayer. I don't know exactly what has become of my body... I barely have a mind link with myself, it that makes any sense. Listen, I know that Naraku's the one who killed Ami. I must try to avenge her death. You know where we're at, right?"

Sango shook her head, her eyes never leaving the soul.

"We're just behind the north wall in the courtyard," Rouge continued explaining, "where my body is fighting with your friends and the wind witch, Kagura. Listen to me, go get your brother and get out to the courtyard. Tell Inuyasha to break down the wall. The barrier keeping me inside here will break and I can return to my body. I'll help you lot fight Naraku."

Sango nodded slowly and started backing up towards the doors. "One more thing," said Rouge's soul, "take Kagura her heart. Grab the jar it's in and take it to her."

"What about Kanna?" asked Sango, finally finding her voice.

"She cares nothing of freedom. Let her be Naraku's mind-controlled slave. Trust me, she's better off that way. Now go!"

Sango grabbed the canopic jar containing the wind sorceress' heart and ran through the doors, not daring to look back. She quickly made it to Kohaku's room, where she found the boy sitting on a bed. "Kohaku!" she called out.

He turned his head, and Sango's heart broke at seeing the look in his eyes. Pain. "Sango..." he said, his voice cracking. "I remember _everything _now... I'm so sorry!" the young boy ran over to Sango and hugged her. "I'm sorry for what I've done! I can't believe it... I would never... but I was under his spell and everything, and-"

Sango gently covered Kohaku's mouth with her free hand. "Kohaku," she said, "It's alright. Everyone knows that you'd never do any of those things of your own will. Don't worry about it. Right now, we've got to destroy Naraku." She grabbed her brother's hand and pulled him out of the room. "Come on! Follow me!"

The two demon slayers ran down the hall and down a flight of stairs, exiting the castle and entering the courtyard.

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Out in the courtyard for last hour or so, curses and spells were flying in every direction, along with strong gusts of wind, sutra spells, and arrows, with the occasional foxfire. Many screams were heard. Most of pain, and cursing, but the words "wind scar" and "backlash wave." Sometimes "dance of blades" or "dance of the dragon" could be heard, along with "death dealer" and "flame of swords" (these last two were from Rouge).

All in all, it was a bloody battle. It could roughly be considered a draw. Inuyasha had been struck down once by Naraku, but got right back up like nothing had happened. Kagura had been blasted into a wall at least twice, but was still alive and kicking, Naraku too occupied to punish her.

Kagome and Shippo narrowly dodging blasts and spells from God knows who. Could have been Naraku, could have been Kagura. Even Inuyasha or Rouge. Miroku merely ran around throwing sutras at Naraku and whenever he got close enough, he would slash at the vile demon with his staff, not using his wind tunnel due to the amount of saimyosho that could be lurking nearby, as they always seemed to appear alongside Naraku. Rouge was taking most of the blows, trying to protect Inuyasha and the others, even though they were all doing fine.

"I hope that he dies soon!" said Shippo, jumping off of Kagome's shoulder, being only around five or six feet away from Naraku. "FOXFIRE!" The little kitsune sent a small amount of fire towards Naraku. Naraku turned around, obviously annoyed and one of his demon tentacles shot towards the fox.

Kagome grabbed him and ran for it, shooting a sacred arrow once they were a safe distance away. "Naraku! Give it UP! You're going down!" The arrow missed his head by an inch, hitting the wall behind him, the awning finally caving in.

"Get him!" screamed Rouge, as her and Inuyasha charged at Naraku. "FLAME OF SWORDS!" The fire yokai slashed at Naraku, several flames shooting towards him, the flames slowly forming into red hot daggers.

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" Inuyasha held tetsusaiga with one hand and slashed at Naraku with the other.

Naraku was struck by both blows. He was badly beat up, but still obviously well enough to keep fighting. "Do you honestly think that you're little attacks will destroy me?"

Kagura was about to send another attack at Naraku, but stopped, seeing Sango and Kohaku out of the corner of her eye. "SANGO!" she yelled, happy that the demon slayer finally arrived. She ran towards her. "I see you've found Kohaku."

"Yeah," said Sango, out of breath, "He's... he's out of Naraku's control. I found the voodoo doll and spell scroll... destroyed them both... Kohaku's free once more..." she gave the wind witch a tired smile. "I've got something for you..." She held out the jar to Kagura.

The wind witch opened the lid, dropping it to the ground in surprise. The lid shattered, and Kagura stared in disbelief. "How-? How did you-?" Kagura was at a loss of words. "Why?"

"I made a little detour to that room you told me not to go into. I believe what's in that jar belongs to you." Sango waited patiently for a reaction.

Kagura reached into the jar, and for a brief second, felt her own heart. Almost as soon as she touched it, a red light formed around it and it rose out of the jar, then slammed into Kagura's chest. "Kagura!" said Sango, grabbing the demoness' hand.

The wind sorceress took a deep breath, not having a clue of what just happened. Then she put her hand to her chest.

_For the first time, Kagura felt her heartbeat. _

_She was free._

"Let's get Naraku. And end him," said Kagura, her hopes soaring. "DANCE OF BLADES!" she sent a fresh wave of attacks at Naraku, Kohaku running behind her with his chain sickle.

"I WILL AVENGE MY FAMILY AND REDEEM MYSELF!" screamed Kohaku, flinging the chain sickle at Naraku, hitting him in the shoulder, nearly ripping his arm off.

"I see that the brat's here," said Naraku. _Kill them all, _Naraku commanded Kohaku. No reaction. _Kill them all! _Still no reaction. Was it possible that the spell was broken?

Naraku raised an eyebrow. "No matter," he ducked to avoid Miroku's staff, then ran a few feet away shooting miasma out around himself, causing the monk and Rouge to back away from him. "I can still torture Kagura." He waved his hand, expecting her heart to appear in his hand. Nothing. He tried several more times. _Her __heart did not appear in his hand. _"What in the hell?"

"Inuyasha!" screamed Sango.

"Huh?" said Inuyasha, turning. "Sango?"

"Hit that wall over there!" the taijiya screamed, pointing to the north wall. "Don't ask why, just do it!"

Inuyasha nodded. If Sango wanted him to do that, he would. He was just happy to have his friend back. Inuyasha ran over to the wall, swinging his sword like mad, jumping towards it. The tetsusaiga slammed into the wall, instantly cracking it and breaking it. A blue mist rose out of it, and headed quickly towards Rouge.

The mist dissappeared into Rouge's chest and all of a sudden, her violet eyes became filled with emotion. Sango smiled, knowing secretly what had happened.

"Ami," Rouge said to herself. She turned toward Naraku and dashed towards him, ready to slice him in two with her sword. "NARAKU! YOUR ASS IS MINE!"

Rouge ran towards Naraku. Naraku pulled out a conceiled sword from his kimono and locked swords with Rouge. Miroku ran towards Sango, extremely happy to see her alive and well. "SANGO!" he yelled. As soon as he got over to her, he picked her up and swung her around, hugging her close. "Oh, Sango! I'm so glad that you're okay!" He couldn't help but notice something different about her. He couldn't quite grasp what it was.

Sango looked up into Miroku's blue eyes. He looked so caring and loving. "Miroku," she said, leaning against Miroku's chest, ignoring the tense feeling all over her body. "Miroku, I'm so happy to see you." The monk smiled at her.

Meanwhile, Shippo, Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kagura were all watching Rouge and Naraku's battle. They all decided to stay out of it, for Rouge looked extremely lethal, and what could anyone say? Watching her fight Naraku was interesting. She could damn near be considered his equal in battle. The two demons were now on one of the rooftops, locking swords. Both of them had suffered a great deal of damage.

No matter how much Inuyasha, Sango, and the others, even Rouge herself, didn't want to admit it, Rouge had taken more hits than Naraku. But she refused to back down. She had to avenge her sister, brother-in-law, and fiancee.

"Had enough, Naraku?" asked Rouge. "I'm here all day, I can fight you for as long as it takes."

Naraku's sword was pushed down a little, and Rouge used this to her advantage. She made a motion to stab Naraku. But to everyone's surprise, he grabbed her sword, sending it flying out of her grip and off of the rooftop. Rouge was clearly startled by this, and about lost her footing. Naraku kicked her in the shins, causing her to fall down. The demoness slid towards the edge of the roof, hanging on with her claws, and getting back to her feet.

"Oh my," said Naraku, "No weapon. Whatever shall you do?"

Sango and the group watched in horror as Rouge's sword flew out of her hand and landed with a slice noise straight in the ground. "Oh no," said Kagome, "She's lost her sword!"

"She can still fight," said Sango. Kagura nodded in agreement. Just then, it had begun to rain really hard.

Rouge slashed at Naraku with her claws, cutting his chest and shoulder a little bit. Naraku kicked her in the jaw, sending her flying backwards. "You fight just like that bat demon you call your sister," said Naraku, walking towards Rouge. He swung the sword at her, cutting her back. Rouge groaned in pain. "You'll go down just as easily as she did. Ami, Yokama, _and _Damian." Naraku stomped on Rouge's outstretched hand, and a sickening crunch noise was heard as one or more bones broke. The yokai woman screamed out in pain.

"Rouge," said Naraku, "You're going to die. You're dying right now. But don't worry," he kicked her in the head, causing her to black out for a moment or two, "You'll soon be with your dear sister." Naraku picked Rouge up by her neck.

"NO!" screamed Sango. "NO! He's going to kill her! Somebody do something!" Inuyasha held up tetsusaiga and went to jump up to the roof...

But he was too late.

The disgusting sound of pierced flesh and bone echoed throughout the castle grounds, accompanied by a scream of pain and agony. Naraku had driven his sword into Rouge's chest, right below her heart. The next thing that could be heard was Naraku's evil laughter and it's horrendous echoing.

Rouge summoned up the very last ounce of her strength and threw her hand over her shoulder and felt around her back for something. She hacked away at her skin with her claws and pulled out the jewel shard embedded in her back. It was unusually large. Rouge held the shard tight in her fist, then turned her head to face Naraku.

"See you in Hell." With that said, Rouge was finally dead. Naraku pulled his blade out of her body and let go of her. Rouge's body fell off the rooftop and to the ground, all of this appearing in slow motion to Sango.

"ROUGE!" screamed Sango, running to the demoness' lifeless body. Everyone else followed. Sango kneeled down next to Rouge and rolled her body over so that she was on her back. Slowly, Rouge's fist came unclenched, revealing the jewel shard. Kagome kneeled down and took it from the dead demon. Sango held Rouge's hand in both of hers and looked up into the dark, cloudy gray sky.

_It's okay, Rouge, _thought Sango, _you're with Ami now._

So, where on earth did Naraku go? Nobody noticed his departure, but soon after Kagome had picked up the jewel shard and placed it safely in the small bottle around her neck, Naraku's evil laughter was heard once more, only this time, he was absolutely nowhere to be found.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU FUCKER?" screamed Inuyasha.

"Don't worry, Inuyasha," came Naraku's voice, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere all the same time. "For one thing, you're not really here."

With that said, a huge cloud of miasma appeared out of nowhere, and several whirlwinds of the vapors swirled all over the place. The castle began to deteriorate.

"What's happening?" asked Kohaku, scared.

"Don't even tell me..." said Inuyasha. "Shit! It's another phantom castle!"

Everyone had become seperated through the thickness of the miasma. Miroku desperately searched for Sango, not caring one bit about himself. "SANGO!" he screamed.

"SANGO! Where are you?" He caught a glimpse of her, lying unconcious, next to Kagura, who was also unconsious. And the two seemed to vanish with the surroundings.

Almost as soon as the miasma came, it had gone, leaving Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Shippo, and Kohaku in a state of lightheadedness and confusion.

Something was wrong. And Miroku noticed it first.

"SANGO'S GONE!" he screamed. Miroku angrily threw his staff at the ground. "Kagura too! SHIT!"

"Unbelievable..." said Inuyasha, barely able to find his voice.

What a world.

**A/N #2: Bet no one saw THAT coming, eh? Well, there goes my OC. So how was it? Trust me, this is NOT where it ends! Please review! **


	13. One Less Noble Warrior

**Porcelain by Juul**

**Chapter Thirteen: One Less Noble Warrior**

Miroku fell to his knees. She was gone. Dissappeared. He had lost Sango once more. _Why hadn't I realized it sooner?_ Miroku closed his eyes and laid on his back, not caring that he was still in the ruins of their battlefield and where Naraku's phantom castle once stood.

"They're gone." Was all Inuyasha said. He leaned tetsusaiga against his shoulder.

Shippo sat down beside Miroku. "Naraku's so evil. But he's a coward."

"I can't believe I let that monster take her away again," said Miroku, sitting up.

"Don't worry, Miroku," said Kagome, lowering her bow and arrow, "We'll find the _real _Naraku's castle soon."

Inuyasha turned to the monk and gave him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, then we'll slaughter him and rescue Sango."

None of them seemed to notice Kohaku yet. Finally, Kagome noticed him. "Hey, look," said the priestess, "it's Kohaku! What's he doing here?"

"I don't know," answered Inuyasha. He walked over to the boy and stood behind him. Kohaku didn't seem to notice anything; he just sat there on his knees, staring out into nothing, tears in his eyes. "Hey, kid," said Inuyasha. Kohaku turned around. "Why didn't you go with Naraku? Isn't he supposed to be you're master or something?"

Kohaku clenched his fists and stood up to face Inuyasha. "That... BASTARD... was NOT... my... master!" Inuyasha stepped back in surprise. This kid was pissed. "I'm free of his control... but I let him get away... with my sister this time. And she risked it all to save _me_. I should go save _her_." The young demon slayer stood up and began walking towards the forest.

"Hey!" said Inuyasha. "Where are you going?"

Kohaku turned back to face the others. "I already told you. I'm going to save my sister."

Miroku ran over to Kohaku and stood in front of him. He looked down at the boy and put his hands on his shoulders. "Wait! Do you remember where Naraku's _real_ castle is?"

Kohaku sadly shook his head. "No. But I will not stop until I find it and save my sister."

"Kohaku," said Miroku, "We're coming with you. We'll help you destroy Naraku."

"Yeah," said Shippo, jumping up on Kohaku's shoulder, "Besides, you don't wanna take on Naraku alone. He's too powerful."

"He's so evil!" said Kagome. "I'm not one for killing and all that, but I really wouldn't mind seeing Naraku die in the most despicable way possible."

Inuyasha sheathed tetsusaiga. "That can be arranged." He turned to Kohaku. "So, kid, you're Sango's little brother?"

Kohaku nodded. "I'm sorry that I killed all those people. That's another reason why I want to kill Naraku. I guess I could redeem myself a little if I helped destroy the one responsible for all of this."

"Just as a quick question," said Kagome as the odd group started on their journey again, "What do we do about Kagura?"

Miroku, who was ahead of everyone else, stopped and turned back to them. "I'm not sure what we should do about her. She seems like she's willing to be our friend."

"True," said Inuyasha, "But she's one of Naraku's little puppets. I still find it hard to trust her."

Kohaku spoke up. "Naraku doesn't control her anymore. She has her heart back."

"Then why'd Naraku take her, too?" asked Shippo, who was now on Kagome's shoulder.

"Probably to get revenge on her for betraying him. I bet he's really mad that he lost one of his slaves," said Kohaku. "Now that I think about it... He's lost two. He doesn't control me _or_ Kagura anymore."

Miroku was lost in his own thoughts. All about Sango. _I wonder why she acted a little weird back there. She seemed a little tense or something. I wonder if anything happened at Naraku's castle..._

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_Where am I? It's so cold..._ Sango rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes. _Why do I feel so terrible?_ She put a hand to her forehead, and squinted in the darkness. She was in a courtyard, and it was pitch black outside, other than one or two stars up in the night sky. _What in the hell happened?_ It took her a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and she was a little startled by what she saw.

Kagura was lying next to her, unmoving; Rouge was lying a few feet away from them, covered in blood. Then Sango remembered that night's events. She fought Naraku. Naraku fought her friends. She broke Naraku's mindlink to Kohaku. She returned Kagura's heart to it's rightful owner. Rouge had died.

Sango gently shook Kagura by her shoulders. She didn't move. _Oh god, please don't be dead! Not you, too..._ Sango put her index and middle fingers on Kagura's neck, checking for a pulse. She was a little relieved upon finding that her new companion was alive, just knocked out. Sango carefully got to her feet and walked towards Rouge's body. Something just wouldn't let her accept the fact that the demon girl was dead.

The taijiya rolled the demon onto her back. Rouge was indeed dead. She was extremely pale, and some of her veins were visible in her face and arms; dried blood covering her stomach and chest, clearly from the stab wound in her chest. Sango turned away from the corpse and looked around the courtyard, searching for any sign of Naraku.

She spotted Rouge's blade, sticking out of the ground about ten feet away from her. The golden handle and the amethyst diamonds in it were the only parts of the sword that were not caked in blood. Sango let an evil grin creep over her features. That was all Naraku's blood. Apparently, he had been gravely injured, judging by the amount of blood on the sword.

_What a weird dream_, thought Kagura, sitting up and looking around. She found her fan lying about a foot away from her. She quickly picked it up and pocketed it. To her disgust, the demoness realized that she was still in Naraku's castle grounds. "Don't even tell me..." Kagura put her hand to her chest, and smiled, feeling her heartbeat once more.

Upon hearing Kagura's voice, Sango turned around, some of her fear vanishing, knowing that she was finally awake. "We're still in Naraku's hell." Sango told the wind sorceress. Kagura frowned and walked over to Sango.

"What in the hell does he want with us, now? I'm no longer his servant, so why did he keep me here?" Kagura was infuriated by this. She had her heart! So why was Naraku still keeping her at his fortress? Kagura turned her gaze downward to the deceased fire yokai. "It's a shame he killed her. I was just starting to be able to tolerate her attitude."

Sango reached out and touched the handle of Rouge's sword. She pulled the weapon out of the ground and a 'slice' sound was heard. Sango walked back over to Rouge's body and Kagura, holding the blade horizontally in her outstretched hands. "I guess we might as well give her a proper burial." Kagura nodded in agreement.

The demon and the demon hunter were a little relieved to see that there was already a huge hole in the ground, just big enough for Rouge's body. It took them a while, but they managed to bury her. Sango said a small prayer for the demon, and Kagura laid her sword on top of her grave.

"Looks like there's one less noble warrior," said Sango.

Then all of a sudden, Kanna appeared. "My master will not fall so easily, Sango, Kagura," said the soulless girl.

Kagura and Sango turned around in surprise. "Shows what you know, Kanna," said Kagura. "I have my heart, finally. I can choose to do whatever I want to. Naraku can no longer boss me around."

"You do have your heart now, Sister," said Kanna, "but you are both stuck here until the master says so."

"Oh yeah?" said Kagura. "Says who?" She got on her feather and flew up over one of the castle walls, she made it about five feet away when she was zapped by an invisible force and sent flying backwards back into the courtyard, the feather fluttering down and landing gracefully beside her.

"What the hell?!" Kagura took out her fan and waved it towards the invisible barrier. "DANCE OF BLADES!" The attack did nothing, but there was a blue light as the gusts of wind were dissolved into the barrier.

Kanna looked up at Kagura. "The master is intelligent. He knows that you'll both try to escape. You cannot leave unless the barrier is broken. The only one able to do that is a very strong demon, like Master Naraku."

Kagura frowned at the little demon and sent a 'dance of blades' in her direction. Kanna vanished before the attack could do anything.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" said Kagura, falling to her knees and shaking her head. "I wonder why he even wants us, still?"

"I guess we'll just have to find out," said Sango, a quiver in her voice.

**A/N: I know that this chapter is short, but I guess the previous one (which was very long) makes up for it. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. You guys all kick serious ass!**


	14. Tyrant

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: Almost 20 reviews! I feel loved! It's really nice to know that my writing is worth reading, really. I'm glad that ****I'm able to write something that people like. Thanks to my faithful readers and reviewers! If anyone is uncomfortable ****with stuff like the following in the warning, feel free to skip to the next chapter, I'll give a brief description at the ****beginning. **

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A LEMON! IT'S A "NOT-NICE" ONE. BAD LANGUAGE AT THE END, TOO. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.**

**Chapter Fourteen: Tyrant**

Naraku walked towards Sango and Kagura, not soon after Kanna had dissappeared. He stepped out of the night mist, his ruby-red eyes shining in the dark. "Well, well, well..." said Naraku, still coming their way, "What do we have here? The two whores who decided that they could free themselves, plus one of my less valuable henchmen..."

"Kohaku was NEVER your henchman!" screamed Sango, finding her voice and clenching her fists.

Naraku went up to her and slapped her forcefully across the face, knocking her to the ground. "Don't you _dare _talk to me like that. You're still nothing more than a mere _hostage. _Better than that... I can do whatever the hell I want to with you." He got down on one knee next to Sango and stared lustfully at her. "Don't ever forget that. It would be wise of you not to sass me again, let alone try to escape, unless you want me to wreck that pretty little face of yours."

Kagura was seething with anger and rage. That bastard had decided to keep her locked up... and as a hostage of all things, if he dared to call her so. "What do you want with us? What do you want with _me_?" asked Kagura.

The evil hanyou shot up and grabbed Kagura around her throat. "Don't think that you're going to get off easy... You're still my creation. Even though I don't have the luxury of threatening you by crushing your heart, I can still kill you the good old fashioned way..." He tightened his grip on her throat, smiling at the slight hint of fear in her crimson red eyes.

Naraku threw her to the ground. "You're _both _coming with me."

The wind witch was so angry at him that she didn't care what happened. "Like hell we will!" She grabbed Sango by her wrist and pulled her to her feet, the two of them making a run for it.

"Like I wouldn't be prepared for that..." Naraku shot out a cloud of miasma around both the wind sorceress and the demon slayer.

"Miasma!" said Sango, covering her mouth.

"Keep running!" Urged Kagura.

Soon enough, the miasma took it's effect on them; Sango first, being only human. Sango collapsed to the ground.

"Sango!" said Kagura, shaking the girl by her shoulders. "Dammit!" Her vision was getting a little hazy even, for being a demon. Usually miasma didn't effect her like this. Maybe it was because she had her heart now. Just before collapsing and passing out, the last thing Kagura had seen was Naraku walking towards her, a sick grin on his face. "Naraku... just... wait..."

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Hours seemed to have passed... but sadly, it was only about_ half _an hour. Naraku had captured both Kagura and Sango, bringing them into the dungeon, right next to his beloved cellar, where he spent his "weakened days." Naraku had chained Kagura to the wall, by her wrists and ankles. Sango was chained up next to her, only by her wrists.

Kagura was the first one to wake up. _God, where am I now? _She opened her eyes, her vision still a little blurry. She was not too surprised to find that she was in Naraku's dungeon and chained to the wall. _I suppose I was asking for it... _She turned her head a little to see that Sango was next to her, but still unconsious.

Only minutes later, Sango woke up. She, having many reasons for doing so, was particularly alarmed to be chained up. "What?" she asked, an odd pitch in her voice as she noticed the chains holding her to the wall. "Wh- where am I? I don't want to be here! LET ME GO!" she screamed. Great. She couldn't even put up a fight like this.

"Naraku's dungeon," said Kagura, so much anger dripping from her voice, "Punishment."

Footsteps were heard, as Naraku came down the hall and around the corner to see his former servant and his current hostage. "I told you that neither of you would get away like that. I'm not as stupid as you take me for." He walked over to the two of them, his right hand behind his back, surely hiding something. Something bad.

He stopped in front of Kagura, leaning forward so that his face was incredibly close to hers. "_Do you have any idea how much I despise you_?"

Kagura kept that look of pure hatred and defiance on her face, her eyes staring straight into Naraku's. Kagura didn't say a word, but instead she spit in his face.

"FUCKING WENCH!" screamed Naraku, punching Kagura in the mouth. He did nothing but make her lip bleed. Kagura barely stifled a scream, but gave Naraku a smile.

Naraku wiped the spit off his face and quickly freed Kagura from her chains, only to proceed in beating and kicking her. The wind sorceress got up on her knees and held up her fan, but Naraku kicked her in the chest, sending her flying backwards into the wall.

"Kagura," said Naraku, "You were always so rebellious. I've been wanting to hurt youl like this before, but I didn't want to endanger anything that could be of use to me." He pulled the object that he was hiding earlier out of the sleeve of his kimono. It was a whip, gloing red, clearly with blood, maybe something else, like poison.

Kagura looked up at him. "Naraku," she said, her voice a little weak, "I'd rather die than continue serving you. This is nothing."

The evil hanyou stared at Kagura with hatred, putting the whip back into his sleeve. Instead of using it, he walked towards Kagura and kneeled down to her level. He stared her in the eyes for a moment, then grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling some of the fabric from her kimono down, then he hit her in the face once more, and pushed her to the ground, so that she was lying on her stomach. Naraku pulled her kimono down a little more, completely revealing her back, and the spider scar that she had inherited from him.

"Don't forget, Kagura, that you will always be a part of me," said Naraku, placing his foot on her back, trying to prevent her from getting up, even though that wouldn't be much of a problem at this point. "Let this little scar be a reminder of that." Without saying another word, Naraku pulled the whip out of his sleeve once more, and lashed out at his incarnation with it, this time causing her to scream out in pain. "This is what you get for betraying me for good. I would kill you, but I feel that torture is a much better form of punishment."

Kagura turned her head to face him, like she was going to say something, but Naraku kicked her in the ribs. "Aw, like I care what you think?" said Naraku, his voice feigning concern. He continued to whip her, until her back had numerous welts, some bleeding. Even though the wind witch tried to be strong and withstand this, she had let a few tears of pain escape.

Naraku took notice of this and decided to start his emotional torment for her. "I thought you said that this was nothing, Kagura? I bet you didn't realize that when you got your heart, that you're more susceptible to pain and injuries now. If you damage that precious heart of yours and lose too much blood, you'll surely die. Slowly but surely."

Naraku continued whipping and kicking her, until she didn't even have the strength to look at him; until she was covered in her own blood. Naraku held up the whip, ready to strike Kagura once more. Sango couldn't take watching her friend get hurt like this; she couldn't take being helpless, unable to do anything.

"STOP IT!" Sango screamed, unable to watch this any longer. Naraku lowered the whip, then turned his gaze to Sango. "Leave her ALONE!" the taijiya yelled once more.

Naraku looked to the shivering, bloody demon on the ground, then to the troublesome demon slayer, still chained to the wall. "Why should you care what happens to this rebellious, ungrateful little whore?" He nodded towards Kagura.

It took Sango a lot of nerve to say her next words. "She's... she's my... friend."

Kagura looked up at Sango from her place on the ground. _I can't believe it... Do I really mean something to her? Then maybe I mean something to... __Sesshomaru... _She rested her head back on the ground, no longer able to help, but praying that Sango wouldn't be too badly injured.

Naraku walked casually towards Sango, getting up in her face. "I always thought that demon slayers were supposed to _destroy _demons. I guess you're just soft... and weak... You know it, don't deny it." Sango gave him a defiant look. "Don't give me that look," said Naraku, holding out the whip. "And don't you dare spit on me like _she _did. You still don't know your place, do you?"

"I _do _know my place," said Sango, with as much courage as possible, "I belong with Miroku, Kohaku, and the rest of my friends. Not with you. Ever."

Being defied and not taken seriously this many times in one day was enough to drive Naraku so far past the point of pissed, that it was extremely hostile for anyone near him right now... possibly even Kanna or his beloved saimyosho. Sadly, for Sango, this would change her life forever.

Naraku quickly unchained Sango, who made a grab for the whip. Naraku took this as his chance for a quick hit. He grabbed her by her shoulders and actually lifted her off the ground. He held the struggling taijiya up to his face, making eye contact with her. "You're loyalty to your brother and your friends will be your downfall, Sango." Naraku was holding her so tight that his claws had ripped through the fabric of Sango's kimono and pierced her skin.

"Don't play the hero, girl," said Naraku, "It's not worth it." He slammed her against the wall, temporarily knocking the wind out of her lungs. Naraku still kept a strong grip on the upper portions of her arms, feeling her blood run down his hands. Even in such plight she was so beautiful... Naraku moved one of his hands up to her face and caressed it, looking into her brown eyes, full of fear and hatred. _All for him._

The demon pulled Sango extremely close to him, close enough so that he could feel her heart pounding in her chest and that she could feel the slightly growing bulge in his pants. Even though she put up a strong defense, Sango was still very traumatized by the other times that Naraku had forced himself on her, and she was terrified out of her wits at the moment. Naraku was turned on by her fear in a sick, twisted way.

"Get off me!" Sango screamed, trying to pull away from him, but he was just too strong.

Kagura got up and hit Naraku over the head with a large piece of stone that had come loose from the floor. It barely phased him, partly because pain like that was so trivial to him, and partly because Kagura was so weakened, now. Naraku dropped Sango to the floor, who backed up against the wall in fear, standing up, and partially turning away. She covered her face with her hands.

Naraku took care of Kagura with one blow. He hit her in the head, this time knocking her into an unconcious state. Then he picked up Kagura's body and chained her to the wall to avoid anymore interferences.

Sango was so scared that she could barely move, and she couldn't hear anything except for her own terrified breaths, her heartbeat, and Naraku's footsteps coming towards her. The young woman made a run for it, but Naraku caught her around her waist, then slammed her against the wall, where he stared her in the eyes for a while, until she closed them and looked away.

"Do you fear me, Sango?" asked Naraku, feeling her up, further aroused by the feeling of her body tensing up a great deal when he rested his hands on her hips. "Are you afraid of me?" Sango didn't answer him, but it was too obvious that she was scared. Naraku put his hands on the collar of her kimono, and gently pulled it down, so that her shoulders were visible, along with a small amount of cleavage, and many bruises and cuts.

Naraku smiled at Sango. "You're terrified. Admit it." Naraku hastily ripped the rest of her kimono off of her body, tossing the ripped fabric to the side. Naraku looked her up and down, resting his eyes on her breasts. Sango didn't even need to look at him to know that he was staring at her, she could feel the horrible feeling of being watched.

"It's a shame that fucking monk isn't here," said Naraku, "He'd love to see this." The demon grabbed one of Sango's breasts, giving it a small squeeze, and causing her to scream out in both pain and fear.

An evil laugh escaped from Naraku's tyrant mouth. "I bet you feel special. It looks like _I _was your first. I'm sorry it wasn't that monk; I bet that's what you wanted."

Naraku put his hands on Sango's hips, then moved them a little lower, onto her thighs. Out of fear alone, Sango had let a few tears fall. Naraku wiped one of her tears away. "That's a damn shame, Sango," he said, "I haven't even done anything and you're already crying." The twisted hanyou slipped one of his hands between Sango's legs, touching her there.

"BASTARD!" screamed Sango. Naraku had always creeped her out, and she had always felt a little uncomfortable around him, but she had never even guessed that he would ever want her this way.

"I see that you aren't mute after all. If you can call me a 'bastard,' I wonder what else you'll be screaming." Naraku pressed his body up against hers, forcing a kiss onto her lips, and his tongue inside her mouth, muffling her screams, one hand wandering her body, the other violating her in all the wrong ways. Despite her fear and shame, Sango pushed Naraku off of her for a moment, but this only angered him and he repeated his actions.

Naraku was going to break her this time. This time, he would show no mercy. "My dear Sango," said Naraku, leaning against her, and looking into her tearfilled eyes, his hot breath on her neck, "Do you have any idea of how long I've been wanting to violate you this way?"

He kissed her once more, his hand rubbing her between her legs. Sango let out a scream of fear, and Naraku took this as an opportunity for more soul crushing. "Do I turn you on, Sango?" he asked, continuing his actions.

_What the fuck is going on? Somebody's hurt... _Kagura opened one eye, then the other, looking around, feeling completely horrible. What she saw going on in the corner of the room angered her more than anything else in her whole life: Naraku was forcing himself on Sango once more.

Kagura gritted her teeth and closed her eyes trying her hardest to break her chains; trying with every ounce of anything she had left to get free and rip Naraku to a million fucking pieces. "YOU SICK BASTARD!" screamed Kagura, her wrists and ankles starting to bleed from her trying to break her shackles. "GET OFF OF HER!"

Naraku ignored Kagura's curses and threats; he didn't care. He had what he wanted. Naraku slipped one hand around Sango's waist, and grabbed her behind, one of his claws digging into the small of her back, getting a scream out of her. He drove one of his claws into her with his other hand, getting the loudest scream out of her yet.

"Looks like you've finally learned where to draw the line between pleasure and pain," he said to Sango, continuing to feel her up.

Sango tried her hardest to suppress the moan that was coming up her throat. _No, _she thought, _I can't do this... This is wrong on so many levels, I can't let him do this __to me... _She could no longer stop herself, and let out a soft moan, mostly of pain, but also that of pleasure. "Please..." she begged to Naraku, "Please, just... leave me alone... please..."

Naraku took this as his queue and threw Sango to the floor, then he took out the whip and lashed out at her. Soon, she was in just as bad shape as Kagura, perhaps worse. Kagura was still cursing at Naraku, her voice growing raspy from screaming at him for going on twenty minutes. After Naraku was content that Sango wouldn't dare say anything more to him, he undressed himself and positioned himself on top of her, soon thrusting into her, letting out his own moans of pleasure.

"Remember my name, Sango," said Naraku, "Because you'll be screaming it for a long time..." He groaned as he began to pull in and out of Sango's body in a fast, painful motion.

This abuse and torture continued for a while, until Sango could no longer stop herself. "Naraku..." she said in a horse whisper, still crying softly.

"Louder," commanded Naraku.

"Naraku," Sango said, a little louder.

"Louder, you useless child!" the evil, abusive hanyou screamed.

"Naraku!" yelled Sango, feeling her muscles in her stomach start to contract. "NARAKU!" Naraku smirked, giving her his last thrust. "I HATE YOU! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" screamed Sango. She rolled over onto her side and hugged her knees to her chest in a fetal position.

Naraku pulled out of her, satisfied that he had finally broken her spirit. "Good girl," he said, reaching down to hit her once more.

Sango could sense him coming near her again, and she finally snapped. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Sango jerked backwards, bursting into tears, her sobs echoing around the dungeon.

Naraku walked around the corner and into the hall, but stopped just before he was out of sight. "So, Kagura," he said, "Did you enjoy the show?"

It was then that Kagura had reached the maximum point of her anger. Never before had she wanted to kill someone as much as she wanted to kill Naraku.

"Naraku..." she said, not caring that her voice was damn near gone. "You'll pay... for... this!"

"You can't touch me, Kagura," said Naraku, dissappearing down the hall. A 'clank' noise was heard as he went up the ladder and shut the trapdoor, locking Kagura and Sango in the dungeon once more.

Kagura let out a scream of anger, and hatred-- all aimed at Naraku. "That... that..." Without even realizing it, Kagura had snapped the chains holding her to the wall all in half, and before she could even register in her tired mind what she was doing, she was running at full speed around the corner and down the hall, jumping onto the rope ladder and clawing at the trapdoor. "That... FUCKING COCKSUCKER!"

**A/N #2: What a lovely chapter... Trust me, I'm kidding. Sorry if anybody got offended by reading this, I'm not big on details as you can all see. So, this ****was my first time writing a lemon (if you could even call it that). How was this? Please review! Chapter Fifteen's coming soon, promise!**


	15. Fallen

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: Okay, here's chapter fifteen. Thanks to my reviewers, as always: You guys rock! In case ****anyone skipped the last chapter, just know that Kagura was beaten severely by Naraku, and ****Sango was abused in all the wrong ways by him. A warning: some strong language ****in this chapter, no graphic descriptions or anything, but this chapter deals with very emotional ****ordeals.**

**Chapter Fifteen: Fallen**

While Sango and Kagura were taken back to Naraku's castle, Inuyasha and the gang returned to Kaede's village to try and strategize against Naraku. Inuyasha was sitting in his tree, taking a nap; Kagome, Kirara, Shippo, and Kohaku were in Kaede's hut; and Miroku was taking a walk.

Miroku walked down a path into Inuyasha's forest. The clouds were gray, giving a warning of possible rain, later. The forest was quiet, other than Miroku's footsteps and the jingling of his staff.

"We could have saved her..." Miroku said to himself, leaning against a tree and slumping to the ground, the staff falling out of his hand. Miroku put his hands on his head, sighing heavily. "_I _could have saved her..."

The wind's gentle breeze went through his hair, and he immediately thought of Kagura. _Is she really on our __side now? _Miroku had been bothered by that question ever since he had met with the wind demon in private to make a plan. A plan that failed. "I guess I should trust her," said Miroku, "after all, she _did _help us fight Naraku."

Of course, thinking of Kagura made the monk think of Sango... even more than he normally did. Then Miroku's thoughts wandered to something else. There was something different about Sango that moment that he was with her at Naraku's castle. _She acted a little odd... _thought Miroku, watching the clouds pass up in the sky. _A little more tense than usual. I can't imagine why, but there's only one possible explanation... _

The young monk quickly cut his thoughts off, not wanting to even _think _the next part. "That would _never _happen," Miroku reassured himself.

But somehow, he wasn't as confident in his words as he appeared.

Miroku was a little startled when he heard the soft rustling of leaves behind him. He turned around, reaching for his staff.

"Oh," said Miroku, relieved, "Kohaku. It's only you."

Kohaku nodded and sat down beside Miroku. "Lord Monk," said Kohaku, "I'm worried about my sister. I can't leave her in that hell-hole with Naraku..."

Miroku put his hand on Kohaku's shoulder and gave the boy a smile. "It's okay that you're worried about her. You're a lucky boy having a sister like Sango. She cares about you a whole lot, you know?"

The boy looked up at the sky, Miroku followed suit. "I don't really know why, but... I just have the worst feeling. I'm not sure how to explain it-"

"Just calm down," said Miroku, "put it into words the best you can." Kohaku managed a weak smile, and Miroku grinned back at him. "You can call me Miroku if you wish. Lady Kagome, Inuyasha and the others do," he added.

Kohaku turned away from Miroku, not wanting to look him in the eyes. He pulled at the blades of grass in a nervous manner, trying to get the words out. Something told him that Miroku would be the best person to discuss this with. _It's either now or never..._

"I think that Naraku might have done something bad to Sango," said Kohaku all at once, still refusing to look at the monk.

All was silent for a few moments. Kohaku got up and started to walk away. "I'm sorry! I'm not trying to make you worrry more about her!"

"Kohaku wait!" said Miroku, getting up, grabbing his staff and jogging towards the boy. "You didn't make me worry any more than I already do. Besides, we're _all _worried about Sango."

"I just hope that she can hold on long enough so we can go save her," said Kohaku.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

Kagura rammed her fist into the trap door one last time. All of her strength nearly drained from her body, she let go of the rope ladder and collapsed to the floor, her hands sticky with blood. The demoness had been trying in every way to open the trap door leading up from the cellar, but it was sealed shut with some kind of strong yokai magic.

"That monster!" Kagura spat as she pushed herself up on her hands and knees.

After catching her breath, she stood up and walked down the short hall, turned at a corner and was in the main dungeon. Sango was lying on the ground, her body covered in blood and injuries of all sorts. Clearly, the young taijiya had cried herself to sleep, judging by the tearstains visible on her pale face.

The only source of light in the room was a few candles attached to each of the walls. The cellar was creepy enough, but the flickering lights and the bloody shackles and chains added to the ominous atmosphere of the place. The stench of blood was incredible; both demon and human blood.

Kagura walked towards Sango, each footstep echoing throughout the dungeon. Standing in front of the demon slayer, Kagura took a good look at the damage done.

Most of the injuries were either welts or claw marks, the welts being on Sango's back from Naraku's whip, the claw marks mainly being on her hips and inner thighs. A large bruise was present on the demon slayer's shoulder, and a few other bruises were on her sides and arms. A pained expression adorned her face, and the girl literally looked like she had been through hell and back.

The wind sorceress carefully kneeled down beside the unconcious demon slayer. Kagura hesitantly placed her hand on Sango's shoulder. The girl instantly awoke and sat up, screaming.

"Calm down!" said Kagura. "Please! Sango-"

Sango moved her hands up to her head and began pulling at her hair while screaming unrecognizable curses and threats. Kagura grabbed Sango's hands and pinned them to her sides, trying to get her to calm down and not harm herself.

"Dammit!" said Kagura. "It's just me! Nobody's going to hurt you ever again!"

The taijiya broke free of Kagura's grip and scooted away from her, sobbing hysterically. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" Sango covered her head with her hands and kneeled in a fetal position on the floor. "YOU'RE JUST LIKE HIM!"

"Sango," said Kagura, slowly inching towards her, "I'm _not _like that monstrosity. I'm _nothing_ like him. I won't hurt you-"

"WHY THE HELL SHOULD I TRUST YOU?!" Sango screamed. "YOU'RE JUST A PART OF _HIM!_"

Kagura gave her the most affectionate look she could manage, but Sango was still in a fit of rage, unable to control her emotions. "Please, Sango," said Kagura, pleading now, "I swear I will _not _hurt you." _Nobody should end up like this, _thought Kagura.

Sango looked up, giving Kagura the most pitiful, scared look the demoness had ever seen. "Did you... see... what he did... to me?" asked Sango, her voice raspy from screaming. "DID YOU SEE WHAT HE DID TO ME?!" Kagura did nothing and gave up on her attempt to calm Sango, just deciding to let her carry on with her rant. "DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID TO ME?!"

Kagura tried one last time. "Sango, listen to me-"

"HE RAPED! I FEEL DIRTY! IT HURT! NOTHING ELSE TO LOSE! HE HELD ME DOWN! 'THAT'S A GOOD GIRL'!" Sango screamed the last few words in a mocking voice, obviously mocking Naraku. The enraged demon slayer stopped screaming for a moment to catch her breath. Before Kagura could even open her mouth to say anything, Sango was at it again.

"HE FUCKED! NO ONE GAVE A DAMN! IT HURT! MY GOD, I SAW YOU WATCH!" Just before bursting into a fit of new tears, Sango looked up at Kagura one last time. "Kagura why? You watched him... didn't do anything..." Sango felt even worse now, for blaming Kagura; it wasn't her fault that they were both tied up. "... you couldn't... do anything..."

Kagura finally made it close enough to Sango without being either hit or pushed away. Sango threw her arms around the wind sorceress, weeping uncontrollably. "I'm sorry! Kagura... I didn't... mean it! It's not your fault!"

The demon and the demon slayer sat in that small, dark, dank room for what seemed like hours; Sango crying into Kagura's arms and Kagura herself trying to keep her own cool. _What he did to you... nobody deserves that... except for maybe him. _"Sango," said Kagura, "I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything... God, I'll never let him get away with this... He's such a monster..."

"Kagura," said Sango, "Why? Why would he _want me _like that? Please tell me you... didn't know..." Sango held onto the wind demon like a frightened child might do to their parent.

Kagura brushed Sango's dark bangs out of her face and continued trying to be as comforting as possible. "I didn't know that he would do anything like that... I'm sorry... I'm so ashamed... _He _created me... but I'm nothing like him..."

"I hate being... defenselesss like this..." said Sango in a quiet voice. "I've always hated feeling vulnerable in any way. GOD, WHY DID I LET HIM DO THIS?!" With this said, Sango pushed away from Kagura and began hitting herself in the head, sobbing uncontrollably. "WHORE! I'm nothing... but a... WHORE! I SHOULDN'T LIVE!"

_Oh shit, here it goes, _thought Kagura as she grabbed Sango by her shoulders, and actually shook her. "DON'T _EVER _SAY THAT AGAIN! YOU _DO _DESERVE TO LIVE!" She let the young woman go after seeing the look of fear and pain pass through her eyes. "If anyone on this planet deserves to die, it's Naraku."

"Naraku..." said Sango. "That MONSTER took everything from me! My family... my comrades... my home... Like that wasn't enough. NARAKU!" Sango looked fearfully past Kagura and down the hall leading to the trapdoor. "IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, THANKS A WHOLE LOT FOR FUCKING UP MY LIFE!" The taijiya slammed her fist into the ground, and her shoulders shook from crying. "WHAT IS HIS PROBLEM?!"

The worst then happened: the sound of the trapdoor opening was heard, followed by Naraku's footsteps.

"WHY?! WHY?! _NO!!_" screamed Sango, feeling something in her mind snap at the mere sight of Naraku.

Naraku smiled at her, his ruby-red eyes shining with... triumph? Pride? Whatever it was, it was disturbing none the less.

"Did you have fun, little girl?" Naraku asked, directing his words towards Sango.

"KEEP AWAY!" Sango couldn't help but hide behind Kagura.

"You _have _every little thing you could ever want now," said Kagura, her eyes showing extreme hatred for the man, no, _hellspawn, _in front of her. "Let us the _fuck _out of this prison."

Naraku chuckled darkly and flashed Kagura a grin. "Kagura," he said, "Look at you. Neither of you are in any condition to be fighting and backsassing me. You both have nerve, you know that? Well, Kagura, it _does_ kind of make sense-- I mean, you _are_ my creation-"

"Naraku!" said Kagura. "You're NOTHING to me! You NEVER were! And more than that, YOU AND I ARE TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE!"

The evil demon shoved past her and looked down at Sango. Sango shook with fear, not daring to look at him. Naraku reached down in a swift motion and grabbed Sango by her neck, pulling her to her feet.

He looked her straight in the face and said, "If _any_ of your little friends ask what happened to you-- I _did not _touch you. _I didnt' lay a fucking hand on you._ You got that? If you_ do _tell them, I'll kill every last one of them, including your godforsaken brother. Oh, and that wind witch you've become friends with, too."

He turned to Kagura. "You breathe a word, and I'll beat the living hell out of you again and again and again, until you're as weak and helpless as her." He let go of Sango's throat, slightly shoving her away in the process.

Naraku took another glance at Sango, looking her up and down, before leaving through the trapdoor. "Put on some damn clothes, wench. You're _not _beautiful... Well, at least _not anymore._ I took care of that problem. You're tainted now, and noboby will ever want you." The evil hanyou eyed Sango and Kagura both with suspicion. "Might I add, Sango, that you're quiet jumpy. I can't imagine why."

"Tell me one thing, Naraku," said Kagura, "Why'd you do it to her? Why do that to anybody? You desperate son of a bitch."

Naraku turned around, an expressionless look on his flawless face. "Power. And Lust. I've always wanted to rip somebody's sanity up into little pieces. And I can't stand it when people defy me. I've always thought that Sango was very beautiful, she's _still _beautiful-- I've just got what I want from her. In a way, you could probably make the assumption that I was _obsessed_ with her. And I had to prove that I have power over her. She wouldn't cooperate, so I showed her the hard way."

"By WHAT?" asked Kagura. "Ripping her soul apart and breaking her so badly that she won't let anybody near her? You're so unbelievably cruel! I don't know why in all the hells I _ever_ helped you, but by God, I'll redeem myself somehow!"

Naraku nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Basically, yes. It was harder than I thought, though. I thought it would be relatively easy to break her spirit, seeing as she has lost almost all of her loved ones. Besides that, judging by her attitude, body, and the way she acted whenever I would try to 'pleasure' her, she's about fifteen, sixteen; no older than sixteen, maybe. Children are always fun to piss off."

Sango could no longer sit there and let Naraku speak of her this way. She got the courage somewhere to look Naraku in the eyes. "What the _hell_ is your problem? _Why do you always screw people over like this_?"

"It's just so pathetic how persistent and confident humans and half-demons are. It's so easy to toy with your emotions," explained Naraku, "Sango, you and your little friends are so easy to anger. Always some sensitive spots in the human heart. A good example; you couldn't even fight Kohaku. Inuyasha still loves Kikyo, even though she's not the same woman he knew fifty years ago."

Naraku made a fast move towards Kagura and Sango, causing Sango to jump back on impulse. "You're afraid of me. But that's okay. The weaker are supposed to be afraid of the stronger ones who dominate them, who have power over them. Sango, keep in mind that everytime you see those scars all over your body, that you will always be reminded of me. You're nothing but a mere human child. Nothing but a poorly trained demon slayer. Couldn't even save your brother. What a shame."

Sango turned away from Naraku, covering herself with her arms, and hastily wiping some of her tears away. _What if he's right? __But I can't let him be right... _Without turning around, Sango screamed at Naraku, "YOU'RE WRONG!"

"Believe what you wish, Sango," said Naraku, turning his attention to Kagura. "Kagura, you're nothing but an incarnation of myself. You were originally just another part of me, and you will forever be reminded of that by the scar on your back."

Kagura's eyes widened; apparently she had thought that the spider scar had dissappeared after Naraku no longer had her heart. "Yes, that mark will be with you until you die. Which could be at any time," said Naraku. "Now that I think about it, you could be considered just a _copy _of Kanna. Just a little different. In all the bad ways."

The wind sorceress weakly held up her fan, "I'll slice you into a hundred and one pieces. Don't tempt me."

Naraku lunged at her, hitting her across the face and pinning her arms to her sides, then shoving her down. "I will not as easily as you think, Kagura." The hellspawn looked at Sango, who fell to her knees, looking down at the ground. "What's wrong, Sango?" asked Naraku in a mocking voice. "Are you finally giving up?" He kneeled down in front of her and put his hand on her chin. She noticibly flinched and shut her eyes, but Naraku made her look up at him. When she did so, he shoved her down.

Kagura crawled over to the demon slayer, and looked up at Naraku. "One day, you're going to be killed. By me, Sango, Inuyasha, Miroku, and the rest of all the people you have wronged. Hell, even _Kanna_ might turn against you, you disgusting... _rapist_."

"Well, I wouldn't get too carried away with that if I was you, but okay," said Naraku, "daydream all you want." He opened the trapdoor, then glanced at Kagura and Sango. "Come up to the castle with me unless you both want to rot down here."

**A/N #2: I know, bad ending and too long, but I really didn't want to have to make this into a two-part chapter. Also, before ****I get flamed for "too much cursing," Think. About. It. I actually have a few friends that have had stuff similiar to this ****happen to them, and they get kind of crazy when something brings up a bad memory, if you get my drift. Think about the ****subject matter: Rape and abuse is enough to drive anyone crazy. **

**Now that my stupid rant's over: Sorry for the long update, but I still thank my reviewers, even though they're the same ****people, but that just proves that some people can be loyal fans after all. Thanks, all. Much appreciated! It really helps me write better stories if I have good feedback. **


	16. Fillthee

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: First off, I apologize 100,000,000 times squared for the long wait on this chapter. I want ****to thank ahead of time anyone who has decided to bear with me and my long intervals between ****updating this story. I've had a few people tell me that chapter 15 was different than the others in ****an odd, but good, way-- maybe it was a more emotional chapter?**

**Chapter Sixteen: Fillthee**

Sango and Kagura followed Naraku up the steps throughout his castle. The place was a horrid mess; human skeletons everywhere, dust and cobwebs all over the walls, the sickening stench of death was incredible. Naraku led the way to a small room, with what appeared to be a small hot spring in the middle of it.

_Castle must be built around it, _thought Kagura, limping a few feet behind Naraku. Kagura had never felt so angry at anyone- _anything_-- before in her life. And who'd have thought that all her anger and hatred would be aimed at her reason for being, at the one who gave her life...

Just that thought was enough to make her homicidal. No, homicidal is too strong a word... maybe, even though she was only mad-- no, _pissed_-- at one person. But could Naraku be considered a person? He looked like one. But he was unbelievably cruel and emotionless.

All of the demoness' thoughts were interupted by the feeling of Naraku's hand on her shoulder. Kagura gasped and turned around. "Get off," she said in a solid, emotionless voice.

Naraku smiled, his fangs gleaming in the dim light. "So mouthy..." He turned to leave, purposely ramming into Sango's shoulder on the way out. Sango screamed and jumped back, falling. Naraku chuckled, "What a shame. You two will be fine here, I suppose? Don't stay too long. I might have to return and... well, I guess neither of you want a repeat of the previous night's events, now do you?"

With that said, he left. Kagura shut the door and locked it. Then she began looking around the room for anything she could use as bandages. Various cloths, soaps, and towels were in the room, all on the floor.

_Wow, _thought Kagura, finding a stash of herbal medicines in a wooden basket in the corner, _Naraku actually __left these out. I wonder what he has planned..._

Sango had been silent near the whole day, except for earlier that morning, during which she screamed enough to wake all the dead. She sat in the corner of the room, curled up in a fetal position, eyes shut tight, whole body shaking. All she tried to do was concentrate on keeping her mind blank.

Of course all the other times Naraku had abused her were bad, but this was far worse. Sango had never been with anyone before that... especially in _that_ way. She had no idea why, but all of a sudden it felt as if nothing mattered anymore.

_I know I don't matter anymore... _thought Sango, just letting her thoughts unravel. _I'm so empty... so... numb... __so emotionless... All because of him, that unspeakable, untouchable, loathsome bastard... God, there's no __words possible to describe him. _The more she thought about everything that has happened, the more the horrible truth came that everything had happened and this wasn't just a bad dream...

It was a nightmare. A nightmare to end all nightmares.

While Kagura cleaned herself up, she tried to make conversation with Sango. Anything to get her to speak. One word would be nice. "Sango," called Kagura as she stepped out of the water and wrapped a towel around her body, "it's alright. Naraku's gone." Sango just layed in the corner, unmoving. _I give up. She'll be like this for a while. But who __wouldn't be?_

The fallen demon slayer was easily becoming lost inside her own mind. _I'm so helpless... It's not fair. I'll never be __able to face anyone ever again. Miroku... what will he think? Will he still love me? What am I thinking? He never __loved me in the first place. So how could he love me now? _Sango layed on her side, facing the wall, tapping her hand into the dusty, dirty floor.

It was the truth: she didn't care anymore; didn't care about herself or the fact that she was naked and bleeding; didn't care that the tables would soon turn on Naraku.

"I'm so filthy," she mumbled in a very low voice.

Kagura was mending her own wounds when she heard Sango speak. "Huh?" asked the demoness, turning around, momentarily forgetting her bloodied and injured hands.

"I'm so filthy," repeated Sango, the same creepy, horrified tone in her voice. "Unclean..."

_At least she's speaking, _Kagura ripped another piece of cloth to wrap around her left hand. _I suppose it's still not __exactly good that she's talking to __**herself**__. I just hope she doesn't try anything stupid... _Kagura shook her head and tried to finish tending to her wounds.

Sango sat up and turned her head towards Kagura, the most pitiful expresion on her dirtied face. "I can't get his scent off of me..." she said. Kagura's eyes widened after a few minutes of thinking about this statement. "I can't get his scent off of me," Sango repeated, getting up and slowly limping towards the water. She stood over Kagura looking down at her.

Kagura stood up, satisfied that she was done trying to repair the damage done to her body. The wind sorceress sighed and pulled her arms back through the sleeves of her kimono and tied the sash on the front. "Sango," said Kagura, "just try to clean yourself up, okay? Please..."

The wind demon had no idea why, but seeing anybody in a state as bad as Sango, could drive her crazy. An odd feeling crept up in Kagura's mind. _I understand that what's happened to her is a sad, fucked up thing, but why does looking __at her make me feel like this? Is this what it feels like to lose a friend? Friend... she's not my friend... has no reason __to be... She's about as much of my friend as Inuyasha is..._

Kagura was further angered and provoked by her thoughts. She and Inuyasha weren't friends, but she had helped him on more than one occasion, whether he wanted it or not. And now that she thought about it, just telling Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku where Sango was, that was really helping them. And fighting Naraku with them. And Kagura had helped Sango. Maybe it _was_ possible for Kagura to have friends.

_How come I feel like I lost someone or something important to me? Sango's still alive... _Kagura looked to Sango, who had just now gotten into the water and was just standing there, the water coming up to a little lower than her shoulders. She obviously didn't care about washing up even a little. _She's so different now... _Then Kagura realized that she _did _lose Sango, in a way. Sango was still alive, but a part of her was gone. Her spirit, her will, all gone.

Finally deciding that she could no longer stand to see Sango's helplessness, Kagura kneeled beside the edge of the spring, where Sango was standing in the water. "Sango," said Kagura in a pleading voice, "_please_ don't do this. Don't give up. Please."

Sango barely turned her head. "Why not?"

"You may not care, but you have others who do," said Kagura.

Sango let out a very small, but creepy laugh. "Like who?"

"Miroku, Me, Kagome, Inuyasha, Kohaku, Kirara," Kagura listed off people.

Sango turned her whole body around to face Kagura. "Why should they care if _I_ don't even care?" Kagura had nothing to say to this. "Look at me, Kagura," said Sango. "What do you see? Beauty? Grace? No..." Sango looked down, her matted bangs falling over her eyes. "I'm not pretty. I feel dirty. I don't _want_ to be pretty. I can never be pretty. Look at me and you'll see scars. Bruises and cuts."

"Sango--" started Kagura, but Sango interrupted her.

The demon slayer looked at Kagura once more. Even though she sounded as if she felt nothing anymore, it was all evident in her eyes that she could still feel. There was pain; so much pain. Kagura looked away from Sango, unable to bear seeing her friend in such a painful state. "I'm broken, Kagura," said Sango, "I'm broken and I can't be fixed. You should know that. I let him do that to me. I could've at least fought back. You know that all went on for damn near a month..."

Kagura could actually feel tears welling up in her eyes. _What's wrong with me? _"Sango," said Kagura, "you fought him as best as you could... you did..."

"How would you know?" asked Sango. "You weren't even there half the time."

Nothing else was said. Minutes passed by, although it felt like hours. Sango eventually cleaned herself up. Kagura ended up falling asleep waiting on Sango to say something else.

Sango painfully pulled herself out of the water and dried off with a towel. Every part of her hurt. Body and mind. She kneeled beside Kagura for a few moments, watching the sleeping demoness and holding a towel to her chest. _I'm sorry, Kagura, _thought Sango, _you deserve a __better friend than me. You tried to help me... and I just yelled at you like that... _The taijiya picked up some herbal medicines and started tending to her many wounds.

It was hard to look at them. Every cut had a story, every bruise had a reason for being there. Sango tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around her waiste a few times, wincing after tying it too tight, but still not caring. _These scars are all mine. All mine. And all reminders of how I fell. __All reminders of him. And all that I've been through. _Naraku's words still ringed in her ears. It was just like Naraku said. These scars _were_ a constant reminder of Naraku. Every one of them.

_I'm so unclean... so filthy... _Sango wrapped her right leg up. _I let him touch me... I'm so disgraceful... unclean... filthy... and I can't __get his scent off of me... _

A while later Sango was finally done fixing her injuries. She pulled on a plain white kimono that was left with the towels, then crawled over to where Kagura layed, still sound asleep. Kagura did look peaceful. Minus the fact that she had this odd look on her face-- one of anger and sadness, among many other emotions, all mixed into one. "Kagura," said Sango, shaking Kagura's shoulder.

Kagura opened her eyes and sat up. "Are you alright?" was the first thing she asked. Sango paused for a minute, then shook her head. "Sango, we should get going to our rooms. I really don't want Naraku after either of us. Especially you."

"Let him," said Sango. "It's you who has a chance."

Kagura shook her head. "No, no, no, NO! I'm _not_ going to hear you put yourself down like that again! If _anyone_ out of the two of us doesn't matter, it's _me._" Sango frowned at Kagura, but surprisingly didn't protest. "At least you _have_ friends. I don't." Kagura stood up and walked towards the door, exiting the room and heading on down the hall.

Sango quickly got up and followed her. "Kagura," she said. The wind sorceress turned around.

"What?"

"You _do_ have a friend," said Sango.

Kagura raised an eyebrow.

"Me," answered Sango.

**A/N #2: Hope this chapter's worth reading. I worked real hard on it. In spite of all the dark elements and themes of this story, I had ****to throw in that nice, sisters/best friends thing at the end. Had to add one good thing. Review if you wish, I'll try and update soon, ****if I get good feedback.**


	17. The Sickness Inside

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: Once again, sorry for the wait. Here's chapter 17!**

**Chapter Seventeen: The Sickness Inside**

Sitting alone in a dark, cold room can be very disturbing and scary. Sometimes, no place is scarier than one's own mind. Dark rain clouds hung low in the sky that night, blocking all the beautiful stars and the moon. Rain pouring down all night, no thunder or lightning: just rain. Rain pouring down like the sorrow one could only experience after a traumatic event so horrible... Death seems so inviting to those who can no longer see the light.

Alone in the room she was allowed by Naraku, Sango sat in the corner, leaning against the wall, her arms wrapped protectively over her chest. Kagura's room was down the hall, Sango could go see he if she wished, but didn't want to for fear of bothering the wind witch. The taijiya looked up to her left and out the small window, seeing nothing but darkness, aside from the lighter rain falling.

But it was like her whole world was darkness now.

Ever since Naraku walked into her life. Ever since that first moment that she had even heard of him from the real lord of the castle. He had taken everything: first her family, her village, almost her life... then the monster resurrects her brother to do his bidding, and to mess with her mind some more. And now this, as if anything could describe what the young demon slayer was thinking and feeling now.

Sango closed her eyes and tilted her head downward, her long, dark bangs falling over her eyes. Every attempt to hide her struggling and pain was so careful. As if it even mattered anymore. Why should it matter? She had nothing left to lose. Nothing left to gain. Kohaku was no longer in Naraku's clutches, he would be safe with the others, and they could figure something out about the jewel shard in his back. Kagura didn't need her that much, and would probably just go off on her own.

Miroku...

_He wouldn't want me... _Sango took in a deep, painful breath, trying to hold back the tears as reality slowly started hitting her full force in the face. The young taijiya got up and slowly limped over to the bed, trying desperately to ignore the mixture of emotions that were going haywire in her mind, about to explode. It wasn't worth it.

Sango collapsed to the floor, landing on her hands and knees. It had finally hit her. Everything that had happened so far was taking so long to settle in. It all happened way too fast. All her misfortune was like a horrible painting of sorrow, pain, and loss; a painting shattered into a million pieces and like a puzzle, slowly being put together.

And the last piece of that puzzle was in place.

Tears filled her eyes and she slammed her fist into the ground as hard as she could, ignoring the numbing pain coming forth; the mental torture about to ensue would be much worse. All of Sango's thoughts were so shocking to her, as she refused to believe that all this had happened. The thoughts slowly found words attached to them, and the harsh reality of it all sunk in even more.

_I was raped. _Sango no longer cared about keeping quiet, and let the tears flow, sobs racking her small shoulders and thin body. _I was raped... _That simple thought was so hard to believe, even though that last time wasn't the first. _Why is this just now starting to affect me? Was it going to happen all the other __times before, or just this last that seemed to push me the farthest? Every hit I've taken before, all the __other times that bastard had taken advantage of me... does it all come down to this?_

The young woman slowly laid down on the cold, hard ground, losing all feeling in her body, except that of the mental hell forming in her mind. _I let him... Why was it that this time he... broke me... destroyed __me... He's right, every scar, every bruise, every cut... every memory... all everlasting reminders of this __hell I'm living in. Kohaku... forgive me, wherever you are... I let you down. I __did__ save you from Naraku, __but in turn you've lost me. I'm not the person I used to be, just merely a shadow of her, a broken, __emotionless, hollow shadow._

Sango was so lost in her own grief that she didn't even hear the soft footsteps of someone entering the room.

Kagura gently put her hand on Sango's shoulder, who in turn flinched, then looked up at the demoness. "Sango," said Kagura, "It's only me. I heard you crying. Are you alright?"

Sango was silent, then nodded. A moment later, she shook her head. "No... I'm not..."

The wind demon sat down beside the demon slayer and looked out the small window in front of them. Both remained silent for a while, other than an occasional deep intake of breath from Sango. Kagura could easily feel the tension in the room, all seeming to come from Sango's deathly silence.

"Do tell me, Sango," said Kagura, "what is bothering you? I can only guess." Kagura gave her a concerned look.

Sango looked away and cast her look down. "You know what's wrong with me." Sango sighed and looked up. "Everything."

"What do you mean?" asked Kagura. "Why would I think anything is wrong with you?"

The taijiya tooked away once more. "I'm a horrible person. I let all this happen. I mean that I let _everything _happen." _If I look at her, I'll cry, _thought Sango, _that look, it's different from how she __used to be. She considers me a friend for some reason, but she shouldn't. Why would someone __want a weak whore for a friend? _

"Kagura," said Sango, "You have no idea what I feel like right now." She could feel the burning sensation of tears welling in her eyes. "I feel so dirty, so worthless. It's like everything hurts. It's like I'm in constant pain, inside and out. The only thing I think could possibly be worse is if something happened to Kohaku."

The young woman gently wiped the tears from her eyes, then continued. "Kohaku..." _He's safe now, so __why am I still here? _"Kohaku's safe now. Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Kirara will take care of him."

Kagura didn't like where this was going. "What are you talking about? _You'll _take care of Kohaku, won't you? After all, you _are _his sister."

Sango let out a small, sinister laugh. "Yeah, I'm the best sister in the world," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "Some older sister _I _am. I let him get into this mess... and worse..."

"Kohaku adores you!" said Kagura, frowning and standing up. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked down at Sango and said, "You _are _a good sister! Kohaku's probably worried sick about you!"

"It's not just that!" Sango said a little louder than she intended. "_You don't understand!_ I let him _kill _my whole village! Family and all!"

"You didn't let that happen!" Kagura said, angrily. "No one had any way of knowing that was going to happen! Much less you or any of the other slayers! The only one who had the slightest clue about that horrible massacre happening was probably Naraku!"

Kagura _did _have a point, but it was too late for that. "Kagura," said Sango, looking at Kagura, tears in her eyes, "Goodbye." With that last word, Sango jerked up and ran out of the room, tearing around the corner and off down the hall, no longer caring if she bumped into Naraku or anything else.

_Nothing else matters. This is my way out, I'll never have to deal with this... this... HELL, or anything else. __If things do happen for a reason, then everything bad that's happened to me has happened for a reason, __so why was I ever here to begin with? _Sango didn't care anymore.

In truth, she hadn't cared since the day her village and family was slaughtered and Kohaku was taken over by Naraku.

"SANGO! WAIT!" yelled Kagura, chasing after her. _Shit, I don't like where this is going._

Tears were starting to blur Sango's vision, and she just kept running wherever she could. If she wasn't so intent on putting an end to everything that she had started, she _would _just keep running. She'd keep running and never, ever look back. Sango finally made it out of the castle and into the courtyard. Franticly looking around, she finally found what she was looking for.

Looking over her shoulder to see if Kagura had gained on her yet, Sango was grimly happy that Kagura's footsteps weren't even heard, even through the heavy rain. The taijiya ran at full speed towards her goal.

_Come on, _Sango willed herself, as the intense pain in her hips and legs started to grow worse from all the running, _Just a little farther, then it's all over._

Upon reaching her destination, Sango dove forward and yanked Rouge's sword out of the ground, falling to the damp, muddy ground. The demon slayer let out a twisted laugh as she rolled over onto her back and held the sword like a dagger to her heart. _This is it, no more pain. I know I won't be missed. _

Sango closed her eyes, hoping that the end would soon come, and she would be taken away to a better place, with her departed family members, knowing full well that Kohaku would be taken care of by Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku.

_Kohaku probably doesn't even really remember me, so why would it matter to him if I died anyway? I __probably won't be missed by Miroku because he's so wrapped up in womanizing, besides, he won't __want me anyway, especially since I'm so fucking messed up. I was always a pain to Inuyasha, right? __He probably was just telling me what I wanted to hear the whole time. Kagome's got good friends in __her time and in this time, she's got Miroku and Inuyasha. And I know Kagura will find her place, she's __gotten this far on her own._

Kagura made it outside into the courtyard, finally. She looked around, panting, her hand resting on her chest, until she spotted Sango. "SANGO! _NO!_" Kagura made a mad dash towards her friend, desperate to stop the event that was likely to happen.

Sango looked up, then pulled the sword a few inches away from her chest, ready and willing for the end to come. _Nobody's going to save me. I don't want to be saved. _Sango pulled down on the sword, and--

"DON'T DO IT, SANGO!" Kagura jumped on Sango, knocking the sword away; it landed a few feet away with a sickening 'slice' in the mud. Sango tried to get away, and wriggled in Kagura's grip, but the wind sorceress kept her arms pinned to the ground.

"No!" said Kagura. "I won't let you waste yourself on something like this! I will _not _lose the only person who's ever given me a chance!"

"Why does it matter anymore?! Who the hell even cares anymore?!" sobbed the demon slayer. "Please, Kagura! Just let me go! I don't wanna deal with this anymore! I can't take it! IT'S TEARING ME APART!"

The two struggled in the mud and rain for a few moments, eventually finding it pointless and stopping.

Kagura tightened her grip on the girl's arms and willed herself to try her hardest to stay calm. "Sango," said Kagura, "You don't want to do this. You have no idea what you'd be throwing away; no idea how many people you'd be letting down. Kohaku, Miroku, Kagome, Shippo, Kirara... even Inuyasha... and _me_." The demoness released Sango's arms and kneeled down beside her, tears in her crimson red eyes, barely noticeable in the rain.

Sango sat up. "Why do you people want me around? Why will you want me around? I've done nothing but made matters worse for you. For _everybody. _It's my fault Inuyasha and the others risked their lives just so they could save Kohaku, _for me. _It's my fault Naraku beat you so badly. It's my fault Kohaku was in Naraku's clutches; that bastard probably wouldn't even have kept him around for a slave if I hadn't survived the massacre."

"Sango..." Kagura could no longer stop herself. _I've gotta tell her, it might be worth it. _"Please don't end your life, all for this, all for nothing. Like I said before, you've got so much to live for, you're so important to a lot of people. You may not seem like much to yourself, but you're definitely a whole lot to everyone else."

"You've shown me something, and made me realize something," Kagura went on, "Demons and humans can be friends, and should treat each other as equals. My initial plan for myself after being free of Naraku was to do anything to get what I wanted, even if that meant killing innocent people; Naraku always talked about demons being better than humans and half-demons. You've also given me something that no one else ever did: a friend. And now I think that if I can make a friend, I can definitely make something more than friends if the right man comes along."

All this started to sink in to Sango. _I must really mean something to her. Maybe I mean something to __everyone else as well. Maybe Miroku will even change his ways... maybe Kohaku will remember me..._

Sango turned away from Kagura, and took a deep, shaky breath. "Kagura," she said quietly, in a voice much like a child's, "I'm sorry."

Kagura sighed and put her arm around Sango's shoulder. "It's okay. Everything will be okay. You'll see."

"Oh my," came a deep, ominous voice from the shadows, and seemingly out of nowhere, "Oh my, my, my, my, my... Such a touching moment."

"Naraku..." breathed Kagura. "What the hell do you want, now?!" She stood up and blocked Sango from him, holding up her fan.

"I just want to end all this once and for all, and put both of you out of your misery," said Naraku, walking out from his hiding place in the shadows. He led a conceiled sword fall out of the sleeve of his kimono. "I don't mind fighting your type. You'll end up just like Rouge anyway. Dying a hero, such a sad, pathetic thing. Don't play the hero, woman, it will get you nowhere, except dead in the ground."

Naraku ran towards Kagura, who turned to Sango. "Sango, get away from me! I can handle him, just try and find a way out!" Sango opened her mouth to protest, but didn't say anything before running off to watch from a safe distance.

_Kagura, please don't end up like Rouge... Please... _Sango pleaded in her mind.

Sango had gotten away from Naraku and Kagura just in time, as Naraku's sword slammed into the ground and Kagura flew up into the sky on her feather. Naraku smirked and looked up at her. "Kagura," said Naraku, "get down here and fight. Don't run away like a coward. I know you _can _fight me, or are you too scared?"

This angered Kagura and she jumped off her feather and landed gracefully in front of Naraku. She caught her feather and tucked it back in her hair, then pulled her fan out of the inside of her kimono. Holding the fan in front of her face, she said, "Let's fight then, Naraku."

What ensued was total chaos, Naraku chasing Kagura around the courtyard, Kagura's wind spells and forces going in all directions. The rain seemed to grow heavier as the fight progressed, eventually turning into a storm with thunder and lightning. Sango stayed watching behind a tree, secretly praying that Kagura would survive and Naraku would be killed and condemned to hell, where he belonged.

Naraku swung at Kagura with his free hand, hitting her in the face and knocking her down. Kagura let out a small scream at being caught off guard, and a surge of panic went through her as her fan flew out of her hand and landed a few feet away. "Damn you!" said Kagura, making a fist and baring her fangs at Naraku.

The evil half-demon looked down at his incarnation, a smug grin on his face. He pointed his weapon at her, much like he had pointed it at Rouge before, and killed her. "Oh, where have I seen this before?" asked Naraku in a mocking voice. "Oh of course! Rouge! The stupid hero of a fire demon! This is how she died, and maybe you'll be lucky enough to follow!"

Kagura felt something, a burning sensation deep inside her. It was like something was aching to come out, like their was a monster inside of her. "Naraku," she said, "I will assure you that I will not die... SO EASILY!" Kagura jumped up and grabbed Naraku's sword out of his hands, and swung the sword madly at him.

"What the _hell_?" exclaimed Naraku, surprised at what just happened. He backed up, trying to keep his distance from the enraged demoness.

Eventually, Kagura sliced Naraku with the blade, smiling at the sight of his blood. Naraku clutched the wound on his chest, and stared in disbelief at his incarnation. Something was a little different about her, she seemed a little crazier than normal, _bloodthirsty _even.

"How do you like it now, Naraku?" asked Kagura. "Being the helpless one?" She dropped the sword and stared at him with a death glare, nothing but hatred and malice in her crimson red eyes. Kagura charged towards him and slashed at him with her claws, completely forgetting the sword and her fan, attacking completely on instinct now.

Somehow, Naraku was unable to let his mind catch up with what was happening, and acted too late. He went to dodge more of Kagura's attacks, but was too late. She clawed him in the face, leaving five long scratch marks across his face and leaving his left eye swollen and red. Finally, Kagura high-kicked Naraku in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

_Where in all the hells did THAT come from? _Kagura wondered, upon remembering Sango and temporarily defeating Naraku. She ran towards Sango, who in turn handed her the fan back, having retrieved it while Kagura was fighting with Naraku. "Sango, are you alright?"

"Yeah," said Sango, a little shaken by Kagura's behavior, "I'm fine. What about you?"

"Yeah," answered Kagura, stuffing her fan back into her kimono and wiping the blood off her hands. "Now."

Naraku kneeled on the other side of the courtyard, silent for a few moments. Then all of a sudden, he started laughing, quietly at first, but soon his laugh was loud, frightening and maniacal. "Do you think this is it?" he asked, loudly.

"DO YOU THINK THIS IS IT?" he repeated, even louder than before. Everything started to vanish around Kagura and Sango; the castle, _everything, _just deteriorated. "We'll meet again," came Naraku's disembodied voice as the last of the castle cleared up, leaving only debri and bloodshed, "And don't forget, if you tell anyone about our little 'incidents,' you'll definitely pay, with more than your own life."

Kagura and Sango stood still for a moment, taking in the fact that they were finally out of Naraku's clutches and free. The rain was starting to subside, the clouds still remaining gray and dark.

"Is it over?" asked Sango. "Is it finally over?"

"No," answered Kagura, "it's just beginning."

**A/N: This is NOT where it ends! Trust me! Kagura's right, it's just beginning! What will happen when they meet ****up with Inuyasha, Miroku and the others? How will they react? Find out in the next chapter! I'll write faster ****if I get good feedback!**


	18. World So Cold

**Porcelain  
****by Juul**

**A/N: I apologize tenfold for the long wait between updates! Horrible writer's block, along with stupid ****distractions such as personal issues. **

**I thank you all for bearing with me and my horrible updating and for reading my story, it ****means a lot.**

**Chapter 18: World So Cold**

So many things can happen in such a small amount of time. Something good can happen... something bad can happen. In this case, something bad happened in a short time. Loved ones can be lost in a short amount of time. A life could be ruined in a short amount of time.

Kagura and Sango walked through a forest, neither having any idea where they were or where they were headed. They were, however, very happy to be out of Naraku's castle and away from his torment. Sango, in particular, was especially happy to be away from Naraku.

He had inflicted so much damage on so many people. Kagura was his slave for her entire life, up until now. Kanna, still being Naraku's mindless drone. Kohaku was freed from his clutches, but he still had the jewel shard embedded in his back, and if that was removed, he would die in an instant. Naraku wasn't dead yet, which proved to be a _huge_ problem. Not only to Sango and Kagura, but Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and even Kikyo and Sesshomaru.

Sango was severely damaged by Naraku's scheming. She was starting to think that maybe she had cheated death. Maybe she cheated death when she survived the massacre. Perhaps it was an accident that she was able to crawl out of that hole and try to go on living.

And this _hell _was the price to pay for cheating death.

_Maybe I wasn't supposed to live, and I'm paying for that now, _thought Sango as she walked beside Kagura, _No one else lived, so why did I? Was I meant to suffer? _

Naraku's damage to everyone, everything, was everlasting to say the least. And worst for Sango, that monster's face never went away. That face, those eyes; burning into her soul like fire straight from the pits of hell. His words still echoed throughout her mind.

"_What's the matter, don't you like it when I touch you?" _Naraku's voice taunted Sango.

Then she remembered her own pleas and screams to him.

"_NOT YOU, NOT YOU!"_

_"It's okay to hate yourself, don't try to run, don't cry for help."_

_"LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

Without even realizing it, Sango just stopped dead in her tracks and looked out in front of her, with a painfully blank expression on her face. Still thinking of Naraku, she said to no one,

"It's not fair."

Kagura turned around, after hearing Sango's voice. The demoness was shocked to see that Sango was about five feet behind her. "Sango, are you alright?" asked Kagura.

Sango shook her head. "Yeah," she said in a soft voice, "Just spaced out for a moment, that's all."

"Okay," said Kagura, waiting for Sango to catch up to her, "if you say so."

_I just don't want a repeat of last night. _Kagura thought, continuing to walk through the dark forest.

The demon and the demon slayer continued to wander through the forest, hoping to come across a village at the least. After about another hour of walking, Kagura broke the silence.

"Hey," she said, quietly, "Why don't we stop and rest for the night. Tomorrow we can try to find Inuyasha and the others."

Sango sat down under a rather large tree and looked up at Kagura. "Is here okay?" she asked.

"Sure." Kagura sat down beside her. They were both quiet for a moment or two.

"It's about midnight," said Sango.

Kagura nodded. "You should rest."

"What about you?" asked Sango.

Sango laid down and continued to look up at Kagura. "I'll be fine," answered Kagura, "you need sleep way more than I do. Now rest."

"I'll try," said the taijiya, closing her eyes.

Kagura leaned against the tree, also closing her eyes. She put her hand on the inside of her kimono and kept a firm grip on her fan, in case enemies came along.

"It's amazing how unbelievably cruel some people can be. Demon or human. _Or _half-demon." Stated Kagura. "It's so sad. I'd really hate to see what this world will come to. Humans think that demons will cause them to die out, but in truth, I think that the humans will kill themselves. Humans are cruel and like to see others suffer. No full demon is as cruel as Naraku. It is true that demons can be cruel, but we don't cause enough harm to live and not die. If we want revenge, we just kill them and get it over with.

"Naraku doesn't."

Sango, though half asleep, nodded her head in agreement. _Kagura, you have no idea..._

"Not all humans are bad, though," continued Kagura. "_You're _not bad. Kohaku, the miko, and the monk aren't bad. Not all hanyous are bad, either. Inuyasha's nowhere near as cruel as Naraku. I suppose Naraku's just... _twisted_... and... _sadistic_."

It was obvious that Kagura was getting tired, Sango could tell, because she was starting to just rant about whatever came to her mind. Sango managed a very faint smile, as she drifted off to sleep.

"Don't worry... he'll pay for this... for his lies... all lies..." Kagura managed to say before falling asleep.

00000000000000

_All of a sudden, Sango found herself alone in a dark room; a dungeon of some sort. After walking __around for a few moments, trying to find a way out, Sango gave up and just stood there. Soon, a pair __of glowing red eyes appeared out of nowhere... accompanied by a voice._

_"Hello, Sango."_

_"Naraku," said Sango, too scared to even try and run._

_Naraku walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I've made you mine... and I'll get you __back..."_

_"No," said Sango. She looked up at Naraku's flawless, but terrifying face. "I've tasted hell. It tastes __just like you."_

_His cruel smile pushed her fears to the limit. "I know you're scared..." said Naraku, his calm voice __sending shivers up her spine._

_"Look," said Naraku, "Forget them. Forget your friends and what little family you have left. They don't __want you. Your tainted. Come with me, and I can erase these bad memories... they must torment you __so."_

_"I'll never go with you... ever..." said Sango. "I'll kill you..."_

_Naraku grinned, giving him an eerie look. "I can erase those horrible memories... forget all the... times __we've had. I can give you the world. Come on, Sango, surrender to me. I can take you someplace nice..."_

_"No," said Sango. "Go away. GO AWAY!" She finally managed to shove him off of her. _

_The taijiya brushed her hand against her side, surprised to find her dagger. She pulled it up and blindly __swung at Naraku..._

_And imaled his eye._

_Naraku reached up as if it was nothing and pulled the dagger out of his eye. His sadistic laughs echoed __throughout the darkness. "You try so hard, Sango. You try so hard for nothing."_

_He shoved her to the ground and with one hand, held the dagger to her throat, holding her down with the __other. "You'd rather die, wouldn't you? You're no warrior. You're a coward. You can't even take pain. I __should have just killed your brother when I had him. The boy's lucky you were smart enough to figure __out how he was bound to my control."_

_Sango closed her eyes, trying to block the horror that was staring her down. No longer possessing two __eyes, Naraku only looked more menacing, the blood dripping from where his right eye once was making __him look even more terrifying than Sango ever thought possible._

_"But now I know what breaks you."_

_The demon slayer's eyes opened at these words. "No," she thought. "He won't hurt me again." _

_"NO!"_

_000000000000000000_

Sango sat straight up and let out a loud scream. _Where is he? Where's Naraku? _She franticly looked around for Naraku, but soon came to realize that it was only a dream. _Nightmare _more like it.

Kagura woke up and crawled to Sango's side. "Are you okay? What is it?" She pulled out her fan and stood up.

Catching her breath, Sango tried to find her voice. "Only a dream..." she breathed. "That fucker..."

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "Naraku?"

Sango nodded and put a hand to her forehead. She looked up through the thick trees and could see that the sky was still dark blue with night. Sango laid back down and closed her eyes. "I don't think I'm going back to sleep," she said.

"If you don't go back to sleep, you might just drop tomorrow," said Kagura, "Now sleep."

Sango no longer protested. Kagura _did _have a point. _Hopefully I won't have another nightmare... _

"Don't worry, Sango," said Kagura, sitting back down under the tree and leaning against it. "We'll find Inuyasha and the others before you know it. Then we'll all get Naraku. He'll never mess with anyone ever again."

Sango rolled over on her side and looked at Kagura. "How do you know we'll even get him? Like we haven't tried killing him before. He's like a cockroach, you _can't _kill him."

Kagura softly laughed. "Trust me, Sango. He has it coming."

**A/N #2: And that was chapter 18. Took me about 3 hours to write, so I hope it was worth reading. I promise ****I'll try and update more frequently from now on. Once again, I thank my readers and reviewers for putting ****up with the long waits. You guys rock.**


	19. The Refugee and the Victim

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: Okay, I know I'm effing horrible with updates. I apologize deeply, ya'll, but the devotion ****of my readers to this story is what keeps me going. The reason I take so long with updates is ****not only personal issues and whatnot, but also the fact that I wanna give you guys a good ****chapter and a good story. I once told a friend that you cannot rush art, at least not if you want ****it to come out right. **

**So thanks for all the bearing with me between updates and thanks for reading/reviewing my ****work. It means so much. So, without further ado, the long awaited chapter 19 of "Porcelain."**

**Chapter 19: The Refugee & The Victim**

Kagura and Sango walked through the dark woods. It was nearing winter, and the cold was proving that. The taijiya followed close behind the wind demon, and occasionally looked over her shoulder if she heard a strange noise. Sango folded her arms across her chest and grabbed her arms to help keep warm. Kagura did the same occasionally, but due to her demon blood, she didn't get as cold as easily as humans.

_I had no idea how long I've been away... _thought Sango, shivering a little in the wind. She jogged a little to keep up with Kagura's slightly faster pace.

Kagura paused momentarily. "Are you alright back there, Sango?"

"Yeah," answered Sango. "A little cold, but I'll live."

Kagura nodded, and the two continued walking. "Don't worry, we'll find them soon. If we don't, we'll at least find refuge soon." The demoness was starting to recognize her surroundings as the trees thinned. "Do you have any idea where we're at?"

Sango stopped and thought for a moment. _This is very familiar... I think... _"We're in Inuyasha's forest," she said in a quiet voice, hardly believing that she was that close to 'home'.

"Are you sure?" asked Kagura, tired excitement evident in her voice.

"Positive," answered Sango. She jogged ahead of Kagura. _It's around her somewhere, if we're where I think __we are... _She stopped in front of a large cherry blossom tree. "That's it!" she said to herself, barely hearing Kagura walk up behind her.

"What?" asked Kagura.

Sango turned around, a half-smile forming on her face. "This is the tree that Inuyasha was bound to fifty years ago. Kaede's village should be up ahead."

Kagura smiled. "Well," she said, "Let's go." She started running through the trees, Sango behind her.

_I'm this close, _thought Sango, _I've almost made it... _She could see lights beyond the trees... then the outlines of huts... and finally, they reached the very edge of the forest. _I'm almost there... what if Inuyasha and the others __are gone? What if they're out looking for me? Oh well, I guess Kaede would somehow give word to them that--_

Sango let out a gasp as she felt something in her right ankle give out, causing her to fall to the ground. "Dammit!" she cursed, trying to push herself up.

Kagura turned around. "Sango?" She spotted the younger girl kneeling on the ground in pain, then ran towards her. "Are you alright? Can you walk?"

Sango grimaced and got to her feet, with Kagura's aid. "Yeah, I think. Damn, my ankle hurts real bad, though. No idea why..."

"Are you sure you can walk on your own?" asked Kagura, doubt obvious in her voice.

The demon slayer nodded and took a step forward on her own, only to stumble again. _What in all the hells? I feel __so dizzy now... why?_ Kagura helped Sango stand up straight and looked at her with concern.

"You didn't get any sleep last night, did you?" asked Kagura, noticing Sango swaying back and forth, then falling into the wind witch's arms. "Damn Naraku and his fucking nightmares!" Kagura held onto her friend with one arm, while with her free hand, she made a fist, her claws digging into her palm.

Sango's vision started to blur. "I'll be fine... I'm just tired..." With that said, she went into a deep sleep right there, leaning against Kagura.

Kagura sighed and shook her head. _Maybe Kaede will know what to do. _Kagura gently put one arm behind Sango's knees, the other behind her shoulders, and picked her up. Then she began the walk around the village.

Just then, a terrible thought entered her mind. _What if Kaede doesn't know I'm on their side? Will she attack me? _After a minute or two, Kagura tried to clear her mind of those thoughts and concentrated on remembering which hut belonged to the old priestess.

_Of course, _thought the demoness, _it's the one over there, a little farther away from the rest of the village... _As tired as she was, she slowly made her way up the small hill to Kaede's hut. _I hope I don't disturb anyone... it's __gotta be close to morning by now. _Just a few more steps... a little more... made it.

Kagura didn't even bother to say anything or knock; she merely stepped through the doorway, holding Sango in her arms.

"Kagura? What the hell?!" came Inuyasha's voice. "How the hell did you get here? What--" His voice dissappeared after he noticed Sango. "What happened to her?" he asked, a little calmer.

Kagura sighed, not wanting to recount the whole story... at least not now; she was too tired. "Naraku," answered Kagura. Well, she technically wasn't lying.

Old Kaede came up behind Inuyasha, holding a walking stick that looked like it was ready to hit the demoness standing in her doorway. "Inuyasha, what's going on?"

"It's okay," said Inuyasha, "She's on our side now." He nervously put a hand to his head, "I guess I forgot to tell you how she helped up fight off Naraku."

Kagura frowned slightly. _Apparently she didn't know I'm on their side. _

Kaede took a step towards Kagura. "Over here," she said, gesturing towards a blanket lying in the corner of the hut. Kagura walked over there and gently layed Sango on it. Kaede got another blanket and draped it over Sango's unconcious form so that only her head and shoulders were visible.

Kagura kneeled down beside the demon slayer, not taking her eyes off of her. "So," she asked, still watching Sango, "Where's Kagome, Miroku, and Shippo?"

Inuyasha sat down beside her. "Miroku's around here somewhere. He's been acting very weird since Sango's been gone. He started acting even weirder after he'd seen you guys just before..." He paused for a moment. "Just before Naraku took you guys away again..."

The wind witch had never seen Inuyasha act this way. She was used to him being an arrogant prick with an attitude, but she didn't say anything. "He has?" she asked.

Inuyasha nodded. He saw out of the corner of his eye, Kaede going out of the hut saying something about herbs and medicines. "Yeah, it's just not been the same. We've all been real worried. Shippo's went off with Miroku, and Kagome's went home. I'm pretty sure Miroku and Shippo took Kirara with them, too. They should be back tomorrow."

"Believe it or not, me too." Kagura finally turned to look at Inuyasha.

"What do you mean?" asked Inuyasha.

Kagura was not going to like this, but it was as much of the 'story' as she was going to tell anyone for a while. "I was worried. Naraku's such a cruel thing. He does not deserve to live. There are things that he has done... I won't say..."

"Like what?"

Kagura was silent for a moment. "You... don't want to know, trust me." She looked away.

"Thanks," said Inuyasha.

"For what?" asked Kagura.

"Helping us. Helping Sango." Inuyasha smiled at the wind demon for once, and she returned the smile. "That must have been hard to betray Naraku like that. He could've killed you without even thinking twice, but you still did it. I'm sorry I ever tried killing you."

Kagura couldn't help but smile at his last comment. "It wasn't easy," was all she could say.

"So you're completely free from Naraku now?" asked Inuyasha.

The wind witch nodded. "Completely. It's so... relieving... I can't even think of a word for it," she said, still never thinking that once in her life she'd have a conversation like this with Inuyasha.

"That's good," he answered, casting his gaze upon Sango. "Is she gonna be alright? What happened to her anyway?"

This was what Kagura was dreading. All was silent for a few minutes, but it seemed like hours. Finally, Kagura broke the silence. "I do not know for sure," she said, "but I do know that it was horrible. As much as I hate to say it, my freedom and our failed escape resulted in punishment. _Bad _punishment."

"Like what?"

Kagura went to answer, but to her relief, Kaede was standing in the doorway, with an armful of various herbs and plants. She walked back in, mumbling something, and then told Inuyasha and Kagura to leave for a while.

00000000000000000

Kagura stared out into the sunrise, the lack of sleep not even bothering her in the slightest. She had now managed to tell Inuyasha most of the story in a little over three hours. _Most _of the story. She was careful to leave out the more gruesome details of Sango's ordeals and her own suffering. _They don't need to know... not yet. That's Sango's decision whether or not to tell them..._

Inuyasha finally spoke up after a while. "Hey, Kagura," he called from up in a tree, "you don't have to stay over there! You can come up here or at least _over _by the tree! I won't bite... anymore." He added with a smile.

The demoness walked over to Inuyasha's tree and sat down underneath it, leaning against the thick stump. Almost as soon as she sat down, she fell into a deep, much needed sleep. She barely heard Inuyasha's words.

"You look like you need some rest. Might as well sleep while you can."

00000000000000000

"Kagura! Kagura!"

The wind witch opened her eyes and saw Inuyasha standing over her, nudging her in the side with his foot.

"Get up!"

"Why? Wh-" started Kagura, putting a hand on her head and looking around.

"It's Miroku!" said Inuyasha.

"Miroku?" said Kagura, then remembered. _Oh no..._

And there was Miroku and Shippo in the distance, with Kirara in her small form walking beside them. Kagura saw Shippo jump up in the air excitedly and point in her direction. He was apparently telling Miroku. Kagura knew that when Miroku saw her, it was a dead give away that Sango was back.

But should he see her in this state?

Miroku had picked up both Shippo and Kirara and was running at full speed towards Inuyasha and Kagura. Soon, he made it. The monk didn't even say 'hi' or anything. He merely ran directly past them both, dropped Shippo and Kirara at their feet and ran on towards Kaede's hut.

"SANGO!" yelled Miroku. He was so happy that she was back. "Sango!" he called once more. He pushed the curtain in the doorway back and went inside.

"Sango, I'm so glad you're okay!" he said, walking towards her and Kaede, who were both sitting in the corner. Miroku's smile soon faded as he noticed Sango'scondition. There were a great number of bandages on her body; her left arm was tightly bandaged up, and there were a few cuts on her face. The monk also noticed some painful looking gashes on her shoulders; a large bandage was wrapped around her chest, and on one of her sides, he could see red-- blood-- starting to seep through.

"Sango..." he said.

Sango looked down, willing herself not to cry. "Miroku..."

Miroku dropped his staff and fell to his knees. "My God..." He was at a loss of words.

Kaede took this as the que to leave. Neither Sango nor Miroku noticed her dissappear.

Sango held a blanket, wrapped around her waist, and crawled towards Miroku. Miroku gently took her into his arms.

"Wha--- What... happened to you?" He asked, although he was afraid of the answer.

Sango didn't answer. "Miroku!" She wrapped her arms around him and began to cry, violent sobs racking her small shoulders. Miroku, who had never once, _ever_ seen Sango like this, slowly put his arms around her and held her close, praying that he wouldn't hurt her anymore than she already was.

000000000000000

Inuyasha, Kagura, Kaede and Shippo watched from one of the front windows, Shippo up on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Is she gonna be okay?" asked Shippo.

"I don't know," said Kaede. "With wounds like that, only time will tell."

Inuyasha didn't like the tone in her voice. He could tell that what they saw wasn't the only thing wrong with Sango. Oh no, it went deeper than that.

But what was it?

Kagura wasn't telling him everything, he had a feeling.

_Should I say something? No. She'll come around. Naraku's such a violent, cruel son of a bitch. I wouldn't want to recount a story of whatever he had done to me, so I __won't expect too much out of Kagura. Maybe Sango will tell us something? _Inuyasha sighed and turned away from the window, giving everyone else the hint that it was time to leave them alone.

But did he really want to know?

Taking his mind off of the matter, he finally announced, "Let's go to the well and wait for Kagome, she'll want to see how Sango and Kagura are."

**A/N 2: How was it? Hope it was worth all the waiting. It was so relieving to write this chapter. As soon as I put my headphones in, and started typing, it ****all just poured out, ya know? Well, enough of my writer/artist nonsense. Hope ya'll liked this chapter. As of now, this story's only got a few more chapters ****left! Kinda sad, ain't it? I'll miss writing this.**


	20. Memories

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: I'm attempting to finish this real soon. There's not much left, so enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty: Memories**

Kohaku sat on a large rock as he watched the sun come up. To him, there were so many things to think about other than the beauty that was right in front of him. So many things needed explaining to him; so many questions he wanted to ask, but he was too afraid of the answers he'd get. He knew that he had been under Naraku's control.

But he had no idea what all he had done _while _he was under Naraku's control.

_There's this feeling, _thought Kohaku, _it's in the back of my head, constantly nagging at me and scraping the interior __walls of my memory. I'm excited and curious about it, yet I'm afraid... It's like I'm not supposed to remember something. __It's as if something happened, but it was erased from my mind. As far back as I can remember, I just remember... __nothing... except for my sister, Sango. I know that the demon slayer is my sister, and that I last encountered her at __that castle... what was that place, anyway?_

The boy picked up a stone and gripped it tightly in his hand. Looking up at the new morning once more, he stood up and hurled the stone off into the distance, hearing a faint 'clunk' as it fell to the ground some yards away. He sighed and jumped off the rock.

"I'd better go back to the village," he said to himself. He lifted up his foot to take a step forward, but a rustling in the nearby trees and bushes made him stop. Kohaku pulled his chain-sickle out of the sash around his kimono and held it up in defense. "Who's there?" he demanded.

A small mewing noise was heard and Kirara jumped out of the bushes and pranced over to him.

Kohaku laughed nervously. "Kirara! Don't scare me like that again!" Kneeling down to pet Kirara, he noticed she seemed a little excited about something. "What's up?" he asked. Kirara mewed and took off running back through the trees. Kohaku ran off after her.

_Another thing I remember is Kirara, the demon cat. I don't know why I remember only Sango and Kirara. I know I have a father and __a mother, but what happened to them? Sango never told me. But then again, when we were in that castle, I didn't really get to talk to __her that much. And what was that guy's name? _

Kohaku thought really hard about remembering Naraku's name for a few minutes as he ran, but soon gave up as he made it to Kaede's hut. He stopped. Kirara had run right through the door. Kagura and Miroku were waiting outside.

"What's wrong?" asked Kohaku. "Kirara just came and got me. She seemed really excited, but you guys look worried."

Kagura was the one to break the awkward silence. "Hey, Kohaku," she started, walking towards the young taijiya and putting a hand on his shoulder, "Do you remember Sango, your sister?"

"Yes," answered Kohaku. Something told him he would not like the news to come. "What happened to her?"

Kagura nervously scratched her head, "Well... I think you should see for yourself..." The demon sighed and pointed to the hut. "She's in there..."

Kohaku nervously walked past everyone and into the hut. He felt his heart skip a beat at what he saw. Sango was laying on a mat in the corner, a blanket covering her body up to her shoulders. From what he could see, she looked badly hurt. And she looked incredibly sad. The closer Kohaku stepped towards her, the more he could feel a melancholic aura about Sango's presence.

"Sango," said Kohaku, kneeling beside his sister.

She turned her head to look at him. "Kohaku?" she said. She pulled her arm out from underneath the blanket and grabbed Kohaku's hand, giving it a small squeeze. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"I'm glad you're safe, too," Kohaku felt a strong urge to cry. He couldn't stand seeing his own sister like that. He couldn't help but want to ask what happened to her.

"How have you been?" asked Sango.

"Good," said Kohaku. "You?"

"I've been better," said Sango, sitting up. She held the blanket around her chest and pulled Kohaku close. "I don't care about myself, all I care about is that you're safe and out of harm."

"Yeah," Kohaku agreed. "I've really missed you, Sango. Ever since I finally remembered your face, I've been dying to talk to you more, and after I found out that you were my sister, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

Sango smiled a little and rested her chin on top of Kohaku's head. "Well it's nice to know that you remember me." She paused, an odd look appearing in her eyes. "Do you remember anything else?" She was afraid of the answer for many reasons.

Kohaku thought real hard. "No," he finally replied. "Not really. But I do kind of remember something. Not necessarily _remember _it, but..." He tried desperately to find a way to put it.

"What?" asked Sango. _I wonder if he's thinking about the... village massacre... _Just the thought made chills go up her spine and her heart went to ice.

Kohaku stared straight in front of him as he spoke. "I know something's there."

Sango was confused. "What ever do you mean?"

"There's something I keep thinking about, but I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's a feeling, a memory; I just don't know. It's like I remember something, but I really shouldn't remember it. Every time I think about it, I feel curious and scared. I know something that I should not know, but I have no clue what. I come so close to remembering whatever this is, but as soon as I think I've got it, it slips away, or it feels like a blockade is put up in my brain." Kohaku tried his best to explain.

_Oh God, he doesn't know! _Sango felt a sort of relief, but also regret. Kohaku didn't remember the village massacre, he didn't remember killing his own family.

That was good. But what if he finds out?

"I don't know what to tell you," said Sango. "But maybe there's some things we just aren't supposed to know." She looked Kohaku in the eyes and for the first time in months, she showed a _real _smile. Kohaku smiled back.

_I wanna ask her, but I don't want to anger her. _The boy so longingly needed to know what tragedy had befell his sister after he had escaped with Inuyasha and the others. Perhaps he would ask Kagura later.

Sango had some questions to ask her brother as well. She had so many questions. Her most tremendous fear of all was that something would trigger Kohaku's memory of that day at the village. _I know it's still there, _thought the taijiya, _I just know it. _

"Kohaku," said Sango.

"Yes, sister?" asked Kohaku, leaning against her side.

"If you don't mind my asking..."

"You can ask me anything," said Kohaku, smiling.

"What is the first thing you can remember?" asked Sango. Somehow, she was a little unnerved by what his answer may be.

Kohaku thought for a moment. _The first thing I can remember? Wow, I really don't know this one. But I should? The first thing I can remember..._

"A spider," answered Kohaku.

Sango raised an eyebrow. "A spider?" she asked. _What the hell is he talking about? What did Naraku do to him?! _"W-what kind of spider?"

"A giant spider, but it was really weird," Kohaku shook from a cold chill. This was one of the those times when he tried desperately to remember something... anything. He hated the feeling, he always got cold and scared and his whole body shook. The blockade in his mind was breaking. Little by little.

"Why... why was it weird?" Sango was really starting to forget about her own suffering and focus more on Kohaku.

Kohaku felt like his soul had left his body, and his words just kept coming, even though he knew he should stop. "I was in a courtyard at this place... I don't know where it was! I have no idea! I... I know I was scared... and..." He stopped for a moment, he had hit the blockade again.

_Can you feel your body now, Kohaku? Are you able to move?_

"That voice!" exclaimed Kohaku.

"What voice?" asked Sango.

"That man's voice! He was a demon! He was telling me something... he was there... but I don't remember him _being _there."

"What are you talking about?" questioned Sango once more.

"I know that voice was there!" said Kohaku. "That voice, the spider... in a courtyard. But that voice belongs to the demon man. But I didnt' _see _the demon man there." He shook his head and looked up at Sango. "It doesn't make any sense!"

0000000000000

Kagura was standing outside Kaede's hut, talking with Miroku. He was begging and pleading for answers, but Kagura gave him the lot in a nutshell. There was no way Miroku would ever find out what happened at Naraku's castle. The whole ordeal was like one big, bad nightmare, that both Kagura and Sango had wished to forget forever. Miroku may find out eventually; he may not. Kagura just wouldn't be the one to break the news to him that the woman he loves had almost died and had been repeatedly used by Naraku for sex.

"Okay then, Kagura," said Miroku. "I get it, you won't tell me much."

"Kagura shook her head. "What happened there is strictly between Sango, Naraku, and myself."

"But something bad had to have happened! Something so inexplicably horrible that Sango comes back a completely changed individual!" argued Miroku.

"It's none of _my _business what has happened to Sango. That's _her _business. And if she doesn't want to speak of it, then she shouldn't." Kagura wished Miroku wasn't so nosy about Sango.

"What broke her?!" Miroku yelled.

Kagura looked at him suspiciously. _Shit, he knows something happened. He knows I'm not telling the whole story. They all do. _"That's all I'm saying, Miroku."

Miroku walked off in a huff. He was more than likely heading into the village to find some sake; either that or he was going to meditate. Hopefully the latter of the two.

"He's so stubborn!" said Kagura. She too turned to leave, but she heard something from inside the hut that got her attention.

"What is the first thing you can remember?"

"A spider."

"A spider? W-what kind of spider?"

"A giant spider, but it was really weird."

"Why... why was it weird?"

"I was in a courtyard at this place... I don't know where it was! I have no idea! I... I know I was scared... and..."

Kagura quietly edged towards the hut and leaned against the doorway, just between it and a window. She took small, quiet breaths so she would not be noticed.

She knew eavesdropping was not too good, but this was an odd conversation. _They haven't formally talked in a long time, so why are they speaking of this?_

**A/N: Ha ha ha, great, huh? Nah, I'm kidding. I don't have much room to be joking. This story has almost been going for a year (or maybe even a year), ****and I'm trying to finish it up. I got inspiration for Kohaku's memories by watching "A.I." Cute li'l robot movie, love it!**

**-JUUL**


	21. Thoughts

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**Chapter 21: Thoughts**

"It's so weird," Kohaku said once more. Sango looked at him with concern. "That shouldn't be my first memory."

"Kohaku," said Sango, trying to find words to comfort him, "we're all different; we're all unique."

"Yeah, I know, but why would I be in a courtyard? I know I'm a human, so I had to have been a baby sometime, but I don't remember any of that, and I don't remember our parents. That's weird, isn't it?" Kohaku explained.

Sango was getting nervous. She was runnning out of things to tell him. "It's a little strange, but... maybe you just have bad memory or something. It's not that uncommon."

Kohaku decided to just drop the subject and he agreed with Sango. _That's it, _he told himself, _I have bad memory. That's all._

Sango patted him on the head and smiled. "Enough about that," she said. "Hey, I'm gonna sleep for a little bit, I'm kinda tired."

Kohaku looked a little dissappointed. "I'm sorry, was I bothering you?"

"No!" said Sango. "Not at all! You could never bother me!" Kohaku smiled. "How about you go to the well and wait for Kagome with Inuyasha and Kaede?"

"Okay," said Kohaku. "Shall I take Kirara?"

Sango nodded. The little demon cat mewed and ran to Kohaku's side.

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kagura heard Kohaku and Sango wrap up their conversation. Her eyes widened with fear. _I had better get out of here. Hopefully they __won't find out I was listening. _She sprinted towards Inuyasha's tree and climbed up into it and pretended she was asleep.

The demoness opened her eyes just enough to see Kohaku running with Kirara towards the well.

_He doesn't seem to remember too much from being at Naraku's. _Kagura smiled at the thought. _The kid's fine. It's not him I'm worried __about, it's Sango. She's only okay when she's not alone. If she's left alone, with her thoughts... I just can't think about it._

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sango stared up at the ceiling. It was so hard to keep her mind blank. So hard indeed. Everyone thought she was asleep. If they knew she was just thinking, they'd probably go nuts. As she laid there thinking and reflecting on everything that's happened, she had no clue that Kagura was outside still. As far as Sango knew, Kagura was long gone with Kohaku, Miroku and the others awaiting Kagome's return from the future.

_I'm all alone. In more ways than one. _Sango pulled the blanket off of her body a tiny bit, revealing a bandage wrapped around her chest.

Sango looked down at herself. _I'm made of scars. I'm a million different pieces, but I've been sewn back together so many times... _She saw her reflection in a pail of water beside her. She was unusually pale and had a few scratches on her face. A bruise or two was evident on her neck and shoulders.

_What have I done? _wondered Sango. _What did I do to deserve this? Oh God, no! What have my friends done to deserve this?! _Sango wanted to cry so bad, but she just couldn't. She felt as if she had used up every last drop of tears back at Naraku's castle. _Poor Kohaku, __he doesn't even have a decent older sister. How am I supposed to look after my little brother if I can't even take care of myself? _

_And what about Miroku? Surely even if he did want me before, he no longer wants me now. I'm definitely not the same girl I was before. __I'm all messed up now, inside and out. I know I'll go crazy. Sooner or later. Or maybe I already have?_

Sango sat up and looked out a window. The trees were bright and green and the branches and leaves shuffled around as a soft summer breeze went through them. By now, the sun was high in the sky. The taijiya sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. She rocked herself back and forth trying to think of something positive.

_How can it be so beautiful and warm outside while I'm so ugly and cold? _

For a brief moment, Sango remembered playing in the village with Kohaku when she was only ten years old. Of course, back then Kohaku was only five, and the village was still around, along with her father. Sango remembered very little of her mother; she had passed away almost exactly a year after Kohaku was born.

_I'd give it all away just to go back to those times..._

Then Sango thought of something else. _Should I tell them? Should I really tell Kagome, Miroku and everyone what happened? _She knew Kagura was getting bombarded with questions, and mentally thanked the wind demon for staying tight-lipped on anything that dealt with their stay with Naraku. _She doesn't really show it, but I'm sure Kagura's getting annoyed. _

_Everyone IS pretty worried, I guess. _The demon slayer felt another burden being placed on her shoulders; should she tell everyone the whole story?

But then she also remembered something else.

_And don't forget, if you tell anyone about our little 'incidents,' you'll definitely pay, with more than your own life._

He couldn't have been serious, could he? How on earth could Naraku know if she told anyone or not? Does he have another spy?

_No, _Sango reassured herself, _Kohaku's not under his control at all anymore, and Kagura's always been a free mind. Rouge? No, she's dead; she's __been dead for a while... Certainly not Inuyasha, Miroku or Kagome. And Shippo of all people? Yeah right... _

_So maybe Naraku doesn't have a spy._

_God, I'm so paranoid. Great, just what I need; to be paranoid. I'll all messed up. _

After a while, her thoughts became too bothersome, and she decided to go outside. _I've only been asleep for maybe half a day, but I can't stand this __anymore. _Sango carefully stood up and walked across the hut. She found her usual pink kimono and put it on. Somehow, just this reminded her of who she was.

Or more like who she _once _was.

Sango felt a little light-headed, but she'd manage. She's survived so far, right?

_Some survivor I am, _thought Sango as she stepped outside Kaede's hut and walked towards Inuyasha's tree. She sat down, leaning her back against the tree trunk _What the hell? I must have done something wrong or have bad karma. Stuff always seems to fall to pieces around me. The village, my __father, my brother, Naraku..._

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!!!" Sango punched the ground, hard. Now she was starting to feel less depressed and more angry.

Finally, she was feeling every bit of sorrow turn into anger. Of course the sorrow and depression would return, but oh yes, the anger would stay a while.

_I wish I could spar with someone right now, but I already know what they'd all say. "You're too weak, you need your rest."_

"Kagome, what the hell is taking you so long?" asked Sango, to no one in particular.


	22. Kagura's Confession

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**A/N: Three chapters in one night. I'm so badass (not really).**

**Chapter 22: Kagura's Confession**

Kagome climbed out of the well, tossing her backpack onto the ground. "Hey guys," she said. "What's up?"

"Sango's back," said Inuyasha.

"She is?" asked Kagome, a smile forming on her face. "How is she?"

After no one else answered, Inuyasha said, "Not good. Something happened, but she's real quiet. She's barely said anything since she's been back."

Kagome's smile faded. "Really? Oh no."

Shippo climbed up on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Yep. She doesn't look too good, either. She's really hurt."

"I tried tending to her wounds, but they're deeper than I can heal," said Kaede. "I was just going to go into the village and try to find some certain herbs. I know of some that can help heal wounds faster."

Kohaku and Kirara ran up to the group.

"Kohaku," said Kagome, eyeing the boy with concern, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," said Kohaku, panting. He bent over and put his hands on his knees. "I'm just not in as good shape as I thought I was."

Kaede turned to Kohaku. "Is your sister still at the hut?"

"She was just going to take a nap when I left." Kohaku said.

"Well then," said Kaede, gripping her walking stick and turning to leave. "Best be going. I'll try and get back to Sango before she wakes up." With that said, the old priestess started her way back to the village.

"Have you talked to your sister?" asked Kagome.

Kohaku nodded. Kirara tiptoed around his feet, rubbing against his ankles. "Yeah, I talked to her. We talked a lot."

"Did anything seem different about her?" asked Kagome.

"She seemed very sad," answered Kohaku. "I mean, I know she was happy to see me alive and well, but I know there's something more underneath all that." He looked Kagome in the eyes. "She's not happy."

Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Does anyone know what's wrong with her?"

Inuyasha nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but remembered Shippo on his shoulder. "Sorry, Shippo," said Inuyasha, "This is just something that kids shouldn't hear."

"What do you mean?" asked Shippo. "I hear you curse all the time, it's no big deal."

"No," said Inuyasha, "I _wish _that was why you need to go away, but it's not. It's about Sango."

"Oh! Sorry!" said Shippo. The little fox turned and started walking towards the village.

Kagome looked at Kohaku. "You should take Kirara and go with him, okay Kohaku?" Kohaku smiled and jogged after Shippo, Kirara at his heels.

"Okay," said Inuyasha, "Now that the kids are gone, we'll try and fill you in on some things." He eyed Miroku. "Right, Miroku?"

Miroku finally spoke up. "Huh? Oh, right."

"Miroku, what's wrong?" asked Kagome. "You're real quiet."

"Just worried about Sango," mumbled Miroku.

Inuyasha leaned in towards Kagome so Miroku wouldn't hear. "He's been acting real weird since Sango got back. I know he's worried about her, but I think he's gonna kill Kagura soon if she doesn't give us any real answers."

"Real answers?" Kagome whispered back. "What do you mean?"

"Kagura hasn't been telling the whole story," said Miroku, closing his eyes and gripping his staff tightly. He opened an eye and saw the surprised looks on Kagome and Inuyasha's faces. "And yes, in case you were wondering, I could hear every word you just said, Inuyasha, and it's very true."

000000000000000000000000000

Kagura walked through the woods. The well was just up ahead. The trees thinned and soon the demoness saw Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome gathered around the well.

_I might as well just tell them some of what happened. Just no big details... _

Kagura walked out of the trees and walked towards the group. "Don't worry, I'm still on your side," she said to Kagome and smiled.

"That's good," said Kagome. "The more the merrier."

Miroku shot Kagura a nasty look. Apparently he was still annoyed with her. "Are you ever going to give me a real answer?"

"Real answer on what?" asked Kagura.

"You know what I'm talking about!" snapped Miroku.

"Sango? Naraku's castle?" said Kagura. "What do you want to know now?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He didn't know what was more annoying, Kagura's smart attitude or Miroku's impatience. _Sure, I'm impatient, _thought the hanyou, _but __I'm not as bad as him! I have to admit I can completely agree with Kagura for being a smartass; Miroku's not exactly Mr. Sunshine today. Can't say I blame him __either._

"Kagura," said Inuyasha, "Just tell us the ordeal in a nutshell so he'll stop acting so damn moody!"

Kagura looked around and then said, "Okay, but you can't breathe a word to Sango. I wasn't going to tell any of you anything until she decided to tell her version of the story."

"Fine then," said Miroku, "Tell us everything you know."

The wind witch sighed and sat down. "Well sit down. It'll take a while."

"Trust me, it's worth it," said Miroku, sitting beside Kagura. Inuyasha and Kagome followed suit.

"Okay, first comes first. Naraku had planned to kidnap Sango during that battle. It was staged all along; seperating you guys, keeping you away from each other... Naraku had been telling Kanna of his... _desires_... and Kanna had told me very little, but the whole plan concerned me. So I started eavesdropping on Kanna and Naraku. It was very hard, considering that Kanna and her mirror are capable of scrying."

"I eventually got caught and Naraku beat me for it. He told me not to eavesdrop again and told me to mind my own damn business. I did. But when he called for me to go out to find your group with a horde of yokai, I did as I was told. Of course, while you guys were fighting the demons, Naraku himself showed up. Inuyasha, you fought him, did you not?" Inuyasha nodded.

"He fought Sango later. He got her alone, and she was already injured from fighting with the demons. He defeated her in battle, using miasma, I presume, and took her to his castle. He put her in a cell at first and told me to keep an eye on her. I didn't know what else he was planning... until that night."

"What was he planning?" asked Miroku.

"Do you remember that fire demon, Rouge? She helped us in our big battle against Naraku. Well, back to the story, Naraku had just resurrected Rouge after killing her family, and set her on a false lead. I'm not sure how she died the first time. I know he brought Rouge back just like he brought Kohaku back. Jewel shard in the back. Same trick everytime, I'd almost guarantee it. I know he brought Rouge back as a sort of trophy for wiping out the last of her fire demon clan, and he wanted another mindless drone to help him find jewel shards and fight. But he also wanted something else."

"He wanted power. _Lots of power. _More power than he already had. You see, Rouge was no ordinary fire demon; she had inherited powers from her father that weren't just limited to fire. She could control wind and earth, too. Naraku liked that; he saw that as a great advantage in battle. So, when he brought her back, he wiped her memory and fed her his lies. He tried to get her to kill Sango. He told Rouge that Sango had killed her family. I had no idea how good Rouge could fight until her and Sango sparred. I was actually worried about Sango a few times."

"I've fought with Rouge, often. I found her more of a nuisance than anything. Just another one of Naraku's mindless toys. I got annoyed with her, so I tried to beat some sense into her. She finally got it, and figured out the truth about her family. It pissed her off and she went after Naraku."

"What does this have to do with you and Sango?" asked Kagome.

"I'm getting there," said Kagura. "It'll all make sense soon. When Naraku wasn't making Rouge fight with Sango, he was... torturing her himself... I'm not sure what he did half the time, but I know it wasn't good. Somehow, Rouge found out what Naraku was doing, and that's what set her off bad enough to fight him to the death. She told me once that Naraku will pay for what he's done to everyone. So many lives he's ruined; so many spirits he's broken."

Kagura sighed and tilted her head down. "You're not going to like what I'm about to tell you. Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes," said Miroku, "we're sure."

"Well... Naraku was not just fighting Sango... He had inflicted many wounds on her, yes, as Miroku and Inuyasha have seen. But the emotional wounds and mental scars will probably never fade. Psycological torture, mindfuck, whatever you want to call it. At first that's what it was. It evolved. He started to _stop _fighting Sango... he started going to her room just to torture her." Kagura felt sick remembering most of this; she had no idea it would affect her this way.

"Go on," said Kagome.

"Eventually, after Naraku had scared the living daylights out of her, he had managed to stop her from fighting as well. I know for a fact that once she let her guards down, Naraku started... _touching _her, to put it lightly." Kagura closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of the images of her friend suffering.

Miroku felt his body go numb. "_He did what?" _

"You heard me," snapped Kagura, "I don't like it either! Dammit! Just let me finish up before you go on a murder spree, okay? Naraku started touching Sango, and--"

"Why didn't you stop him?" asked Miroku.

"Because I wasn't there half the time!" said Kagura. "That bastard sent me out on errands, usually terrorizing villages, just so he could violate this girl and destroy her spirit!" Kagura shook her head, trying to keep calm. "You wanna know what else he did?!" She stood up to leave.

Miroku shot up and grabbed Kagura by her shoulders, shaking her repeatedly. "What did he do?! WHAT DID HE DO, GODDAMMIT?!"

Inuyasha had never seen Miroku act this way. He stood up upon seeing the frightened look on Kagura's face. "Let her go, Miroku!" said Inuyasha.

Miroku looked over at Inuyasha and let go of Kagura. "I'll kill that fucker! I swear I'll suck him into my fucking hellhole!"

"Miroku, calm down," said Inuyasha. "Kagura, what else did Naraku do?"

Kagura sat down. After a few minutes of catching her breath, she continued the story. "Naraku has used Sango as a scapegoat for his anger. He has used her as bait. Worst of all..." she looked down, unable to look at anyone else, "... he used her for sex." Kagura could practicly see everything that happened the night they tried to escape from Naraku the first time. It was all replaying in her head like a horrible movie on repeat.

"WHAT?!" yelled Miroku.

"You fucking heard me!" Kagura could no longer keep her own anger in. "You wanna know what else happened? I've _seen _it happen! I've seen that arrogant bastard fucking hold her down and fuck the hell out of her! I've seen him beat that poor, poor girl within an inch of her life and then use and abuse her like that! I've fucking seen it ALL!"

Inuyasha and Kagome looked completely stunned; Miroku as well; the angry look on his face turned to one of sorrow.

Kagura didn't even realize that she had actually started to cry. "I've seen it happen," she repeated in a softer voice. "I couldn't do anything about it... he... he made me watch..."

"Oh... my God..." said Kagome, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Wow," said Inuyasha, "I have no idea what to say... Gosh... I'm so sorry. To both of you."

Kagura wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her kimono. "I would say it's okay, but it's not. It may never be okay. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry."

"Kagura," said Miroku, standing up and facing away from the group, "it's not your fault. It's no one's but Naraku's. He'll pay." The monk turned to face the group, a look of pure malice on his face. "Oh, trust me, he will definitely pay."

**A/N 2: Hope these 3 chapters were worth it! I'll try and finish up before December, okay? Review please, I want to know opinions, and I really hope my ****work on this story has gotten better over the year that it's been in progress!**

**-Juul**


	23. The Realization

**Porcelain  
****by Juul**

**Chapter 23: The Realization**

_Can you feel your body now, Kohaku? Are you able to move?_

Those sentences plagued Kohaku's mind every day, every single day. He tried to remember what exactly had happened to him. His first memory... what exactly was it?

Kohaku could barely remember his own answer. _"Yes."_

_"Does any of this hurt?"_

_"No."_

_"Good, good. Who am I, Kohaku?"_

_"You are N..."_

And that's where it got blurry.

Kohaku paced around outside of Kaede's hut, swinging his chain-sickle around in an agitated manner. Kirara followed him around until the chain sickle slipped and landed an inch away from; then the two-tail ran into the hut mewing.

Normally Kohaku would have apologized, but he was too preoccupied with his thoughts.

"What was his name?" Kohaku asked himself, sitting down and leaning against Inuyasha's tree. "_What was __his NAME?_"

"Who's name?"

Kohaku turned around to see Kagura walking out of the trees, holding her fan in front of her face.

"That man's name," answered Kohaku.

"What man, Kohaku?" asked Kagura.

"The man from the castle."

_The man from the castle, eh? _Thought Kagura. "You don't remember his name?" Kagura was a little surprised. _Exactly __how much of his memory did Naraku erase? _"Well, his name is Naraku."

"That's it!" said Kohaku. Then he thought of something else that may help him. "Kagura?" he asked, "what is the first thing you can remember?"

_The first thing I can remember? _Kagura deeply thought about this one. "The first thing I can remember," said Kagura, "is a spider."

_That's odd, _thought Kohaku, _She obviously couldn't have MY first memory! She's way older than me! _Then he thought about something else. _Well, she's a demon... maybe I'm one. But I don't think I am. Sango's a human and I'm her brother._

"That is so weird," said Kohaku, staring off into space, "That's my first memory, too."

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "Really? Wow, that _is _odd." She tried to think of a logical explanation for this. _Should I tell the __kid what I know? _The demoness looked at Kohaku's dark brown eyes, you could still see the curiosity and innocence reflected in them. _If I tell this kid... it'll kill him. Maybe Sango should do it. He'll find out eventually, anyway. _

"Well, _I'm _a demon," said Kagura, "I know that Naraku created me."

Kohaku looked up at Kagura with confusion written all over his face. "Am I demon?"

"Of course not! You know that!" exclaimed Kagura, snapping her fan shut and stuffing it inside her kimono. She walked over to Kohaku and sat down.

"I know," said Kohaku, "but I just wanted to make sure." He was quiet for a moment. _The spider... Naraku... Naraku's voice? Yeah, __that's right... but what about the courtyard and the blood? _"Kagura," said Kohaku, "where were you when... you were created?"

Kagura let out a breath and said almost instinctively, "Dungeon. Naraku's castle." She looked at Kohaku. "Why?"

"I think I was born in a courtyard," said Kohaku. "Well, not necessarily _born, _because since I'm human, I was born a baby, right?"

Kagura nodded. She knew he was getting into uncomfortable conversation; stuff she couldn't tell him that he'd have to ask Sango.

Kohaku gave Kagura an even more confused look. "But I don't remember being a baby. I don't remember even being a little kid." He stood up and started pacing back and forth. "Why? Is there something wrong with me?"

The wind sorceress was unsure of what to tell him. There _was _something wrong with the boy, but nothing that was his fault, per say.

"Kohaku," she said, "I don't rightly know the answers to your questions. I'm sorry."

"Oh," sighed Kohaku, "Okay." He leaned against the tree. _The spider... Naraku... Naraku's voice... the courtyard... blood... what was __the blood from? Sango's face... Sango crawling over to me..._

_"Kohaku!"_

_"Sister! What have I done?"_

_"Kohaku!" _

_Black. Nothing. Black. _

_"Can you move your body now, Kohaku? Are you able to move?" asked Naraku._

_"Yes." He got up._

_"Does any of this hurt?"_

_"No."_

_"Good, good. Who am I, Kohaku?"_

_"You are Naraku."_

_"What am I to you?"_

_"You are my master."_

_That face, those ruby red, no BLOOD red eyes; that long mess of jet black hair... all on the spider... Naraku's voice, the spider man was __talking..._

"Naraku's the spider!" exclaimed Kohaku, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Huh?" Kagura looked up at the boy, a confused look on her face instead.

Kohaku turned to Kagura. "Naraku's the spider in my first memory! He's a spider demon!"

This news was not new to Kagura. "Yeah," she answered. "I've known that."

Kohaku smiled a little bit. He was one step closer to finding out who he was. "But _I _didn't know that. I thought Naraku was just controlling the spider or something." He scratched his head as he became confused once again. "But why was Naraku a spider? All the other times I remember him, he was human."

"He's a half demon," answered Kagura. "He can change into his true form on the night of the new moon every month."

_Well that explains the spider and the voice... _Kohaku thought. Maybe he _would _have to ask Sango.

The young taijiya turned to the demon. "Kagura, do you think my sister would get mad if I went in and asked her a few things?"

Kagura shrugged. _Boy, I just hope you're prepared for what she may tell you. Don't do anything stupid._

She decided to speak up before Kohaku went into the hut. "You may not like what you're about to hear."

With that said, Kagura threw her feather up into the air and rode off on it.

0000000000000000000000000000000

"Sango?" Kohaku stuck his head into Kaede's hut. He saw his sister sitting by a window in the corner. "Sango?"

"Yes, Kohaku?" asked Sango, forcing a smile.

Kohaku came in. "I have a few questions to ask. Kagura told me to ask you."

Sango motioned for Kohaku to sit beside her, an uneasy look on her face. _Okay, here it goes... it's either about me or... the village..._

"What, Kohaku?" asked Sango, trying to remain calm. Kohaku sat beside her.

"The first thing I can remember... it doesn't make any sense," said Kohaku, "there's Naraku, as a spider... he's talking to me, and I'm in a courtyard and there's bodies everywhere..." Kohaku looked up at his sister, "And I remember you being there. Then the memory gets all black. I remember you running towards me then we both collapse, and I'm in lots of pain... then it gets all black... then it goes right back to the courtyard with the bodies and Naraku..."

_I was so afraid of this... _thought Sango. _How can I explain it to him? He's got so much to live for! And now, this is going to break him..._

"What else," asked Sango, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

Kohaku tried to tried to find a way to word it. "It's kind of weird... it's just I know I know you from before." He concentrated on the memory. "I think we were fighting or something."

Sango was dreading this.

"Was that real, Sango?" asked Kohaku.

"Yes," said Sango, "it was real."

"Then what were we fighting? Was it Naraku?" asked Kohaku.

Sango sadly shook her head.

"Was there a monster?" then something clicked with Kohaku. Upon seeing the sad look on his sister's face, "There was no monster, was there? Because I don't remember Naraku from before I... woke up..."

"No, Kohaku," said Sango, trying not to seem sad or scared. _Oh how I've been dreading this conversation._

"Why were we covered in blood?" asked Kohaku.

_"Kohaku, snap out of it!" yelled Sango._

_Kohaku threw the chain-sickle at her. He hit her in the back. She fell to the ground._

_Kohaku fell to his knees. He stood up. "Sister, what have I done?!" He ran to Sango, but was shot down a few feet away from her._

_"Kohaku!" shouted Sango as she crawled over to him._

_"Sango," said Kohaku, crying, "I'm scared."_

_Everything went black._

_Then he woke up. He was in pain, lots of pain. He saw the spider man._

_"Can you move your body now, Kohaku? Are you able to move?" asked Naraku, crawling towards him with his horrid eight legs._

_"Yes." He got up._

_"Does any of this hurt?"_

_"No."_

_"Good, good. Who am I, Kohaku?"_

_"You are Naraku."_

_"What am I to you?"_

_"You are my master."_

_"You realize that you were dead, right?"_

_"Yes." Kohaku answered in his monotone. "How did I die? How am I alive now?"_

_Naraku grinned. "You fought your sister, Sango, to the death. I possessed you and made you do it. Your life is __being sustained by a shard of the Shikon Jewel. If it is removed, you will die."_

_"Thank you for bringing me back to life, Master Naraku."_

_"Do you see all of this?" asked the spider demon._

_Kohaku looked around the courtyard. "Yes." _

_"Do you know who did all of this?" _

_"No."_

_"Do you want to know?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You did."_

_Kohaku looked at the dead bodies and down at himself, and at the chain sickle on his sash. "Me?"_

_Naraku shook his head, a sick smile on his face. "Good. You are a killing machine, boy. You will do well in my services."_

_"Yes. I will, Master Naraku." _

00000000000000000000000000000000

Kohaku felt his heart stop. He felt every breath leave his body; all of his blood seemed to stop running, and all of his organs froze.

"I... I hurt you... didn't I?" asked Kohaku, he could feel the color leaving his face.

Sango slowly shook her head. "I'm afraid you did..."

"Show me," said Kohaku, "I... I don't believe it..." _I don't WANT to believe it..._

The older taijiya completely forgot about her stay with Naraku and what he had done to her. She turned around so that she was facing away from Kohaku, and undid the sash on the front of her kimono. Then she let the fabric fall just about to her waist.

_No! _Thought Kohaku.

There was the scar.

Right there, in the middle of her back.

"No," breathed Kohaku, his eyes widening in disbelief. "No..."

Sango dressed once more. "I'm sorry, Kohaku," she said, still not facing him. "It wasn't your fault. You were possessed by Naraku."

"Then I... killed... _the whole village?_" asked Kohaku, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

Sango nodded, trying to hold back her own tears.

"_Even our father?" _

"Y...Yes, Kohaku," said Sango.

"My brain is falling out." Kohaku had an eerie, blank expression on his face.

He was quiet for a few moments.

"_NO! _I didn't! I didn't mean to! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" screamed Kohaku, starting to cry as all of his other memories, even the good ones, came back. Kohaku went to stand up, but Sango was quicker to get up. She grabbed him by his wrists and looked him straight in the face, no longer caring if she was crying.

"You're right, Kohaku! It's not your fault!" said Sango. She looked up at the ceiling as if praying to some higher power. "Oh, God! Oh, God what do I do now? What do I do?!"

"I'm sorry, I'M SO SORRY, SISTER! I'M SORRY I HURT MYSELF AND I HURT YOU AND I HURT FATHER!" Kohaku looked up at her; the look in his eyes was just so pitiful, he looked like every bit of his happiness had been sucked out of him. The boy hugged Sango as tightly around the waist as he could, pleading for her forgiveness that he already had.

"Stop it, Kohaku!" pleaded Sango. "Stop it! It's not your fault! I'm not mad at you! I'm not-- I'M NOT MAD AT YOU!" She hugged her little brother as tight as she could, lifting him up a little.

Kohaku cried into her shoulder, his screams only whispers now. "I'm sorry, so sorry! I'm sorry, Sango; I'm sorry I hurt you..."

Sango continued hugging her brother and ran her fingers through his dark locks of hair. "It's okay, Kohaku... It's not your fault... I'm not mad at you. _Nobody's _mad at you. I'm not mad at you. If I'm mad at anyone, it's Naraku."

_That bastard! _

Kohaku suddenly felt his sadness go away, instantly replaced with boiling hot rage and anger and hatred at the mere mention of _his _name. He loosened his hold on his sister and got quiet.

"Kohaku?" asked Sango.

He remained silent.

"Kohaku?" Sango let go of Kohaku and looked down at him. She gasped. "Kohaku? What's wrong?" That look on his face... _it was scary. _She had never seen anyone look that way before, except maybe Naraku. "Kohaku?"

"I'll kill him," muttered Kohaku.

Sango had no idea what he had said. "I can't hear you..."

"I'll kill him..." Kohaku repeated, this time louder. His hand automatically went to the chain-sickle at his side.

Sango backed away, afraid that Naraku had regained control of him somehow. "Kohaku, what are you doing?"

Kohaku raised the chain-sickle above his head in the blink of an eye.

"I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL FUCKING RIP HIM TO PIECES!"

Kohaku ran out of Kaede's hut at full speed.

"Kohaku!" screamed Sango. "KOHAKU! WAIT!"

_Oh no, _she thought, _I've lost him again! _


	24. Revenge

**Porcelain**

**by Juul**

**EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry! I know I promised to finish this story by December, but (ducks to ****avoid getting hit with things thrown by pissed off Porcelain readers) I have had some personal matters to attend to.**

**Chapter 24: Revenge**

Kohaku ran through the forest, violent pushing branches and bushes out of his way and hurling his chain sickle at various trees. He couldn't believe it. _He _was the one who had done it. _He _killed his family. _He _killed the village. _He _hurt Sango.

"I didn't mean it!" the boy sobbed, hastily wiping his eyes as he ran. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO! I DIDN'T--"

He stopped talking after realizing he had run into something. Kohaku fell onto his backside and pushed himself back up.

"Dammit! Out of my way! Get out of my--"

Miroku turned around. "Kohaku?" He had a look of pure confusion on his face. "What are you... doing... out?" The monk was slower getting his sentence out after noticing Kohaku's emotional state. "What happened?"

"I'M A MURDERER! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!" screamed Kohaku, shoving past Miroku.

The monk put a hand over his mouth, momentarily forgetting about his own goal. "Oh my..." _He knows! He knows what happened! I __wonder if Sango knows of this? _

Kohaku continued stomping ahead of Miroku, his chain sickle out and ready to use if provoked. Miroku stood there watching the boy, unsure of what to do.

_I should go after him. He may be a danger to himself. _"Kohaku!" called Miroku, slowly starting after him. "Where are you going?"

Kohaku sped up his pace.

"KOHAKU!" yelled Miroku. "WAIT!"

Kohaku broke out into a run.

"Shit," Miroku said to himself. "I'd better go after him." He ran after Kohaku, trying to keep up with him.

_Damn, he's fast!_

After a while, Miroku got close enough to Kohaku to tackle him. He jumped on the boy, knocking him to the ground.

"Miroku, leave me ALONE!" Kohaku screamed, actually hitting Miroku.

Miroku grabbed the young taijiya by his arms and pinned him to the ground. "Kohaku!" The boy still struggled. "Kohaku!" Still putting up a fight. "That's it!" Miroku smacked him across the face. "CALM DOWN!"

Kohaku stopped fighting him. He merely laid there and cried. The stern look on Miroku's face melted into a look of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Kohaku," said Miroku, "It's just... I don't know..." He sighed. "But if I let go of you, you won't run again, will you?"

The boy shook his head.

"You promise?" Miroku asked.

"I promise."

Miroku got off of Kohaku and sat beside him. Kohaku sat up and hugged his knees to his chest. "I'm a bad person, Miroku," said Kohaku.

"No you're not!" said Miroku.

Kohaku looked him in the eyes. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! _You didn't kill your family and friends!_"

Miroku didn't know what to say. The kid had a point. "Kohaku," said Miroku, "I was afraid you'd find this out. We all were."

"I know," said Kohaku, hastily wiping his tears away. "Sango didn't like telling me."

"She told you?" Miroku was surprised.

"Just because I asked."

"Oh." Miroku could feel the tension in the air. His situation was so uncomfortable.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. The sun was starting to set.

Finally Miroku spoke up. "Kohaku, it's getting late. You should go back to Kaede's and--"

"No." Kohaku stated.

"Why?" asked Miroku.

Kohaku turned to him with a dead serious look on his face. "What happened to my sister?"

_Shit. Just what he needs to hear... _thought Miroku.

The monk stood up to walk away without saying anything.

Kohaku shot up. "Dammit, Miroku! What happened to her?!"

Miroku started walking away.

Kohaku stood in that one spot screaming after him. "MIROKU! WHAT HAPPENED?! I KNOW YOU KNOW! HEY! COME BACK!"

Miroku slowed his pace down.

"COME BACK HERE, DAMMIT!" Kohaku screamed.

Miroku stopped. "You really want to know what happened to Sango?" he asked in a monotone voice.

"Yes," said Kohaku, lowering his voice. "Yes I do."

Miroku turned his head. "Okay. I'll tell you." He walked back over to Kohaku and put a hand on his shoulder. "I really don't want to tell you this."

"Tell me anyway," said Kohaku.

Miroku sighed. "It's the worst thing that could happen to someone."

"I need to know."

"I'm assuming you know Naraku, right?" asked Miroku.

Kohaku frowned. "Yes," he said through clenched teeth.

"Well," Miroku wasn't sure of how to word this. "When your sister was in Naraku's castle... Naraku... forced himself on her."

A scared yet angry look appeared on Kohaku's young face. "He--? Are you serious? No!"

Miroku shook his head.

"That _bastard!_" said Kohaku. "THAT... THAT... CRUEL, EVIL, VILE, PERVERTED---" He couldn't think of anything else to say. All he knew was that he has never hated anyone like he hated Naraku. Not ever.

"I'LL KILL HIM!" Kohaku kept a strong grip on his chain sickle and started walking through the woods once more. Miroku followed him.

"Kohaku," he said, accepting the fact that he couldn't stop him. "Don't mind me asking, but where were you going earlier?"

"To kill Naraku of course," Kohaku said in a casual voice without looking back.

_Of course, _thought Miroku. _Where else? _

"Don't you want him dead, too?" asked Kohaku. "You love Sango, right?"

The question caught the monk off guard. "What--? Well, yeah, I guess so--"

"Then you want to rip Naraku's head off," said Kohaku, still walking forward.

_He's right, though. _Miroku _did _want Naraku dead. He wanted him more than dead. He wanted him to suffer.

They reached the edge of the forest and were facing a small field.

"Which way to Naraku's castle?" asked Kohaku.

"What--?" said Miroku. "You're going to--"

"What? Kill Naraku?" asked Kohaku. "So what if I am? He ruined my life! He ruined my sister's life!"

Miroku understood. "I get it. But I have no clue where Naraku is."

Kohaku turned to face Miroku, giving him that eerie, murderous look. "Well, we're gonna find out real fast where that sick son of a bitch is hiding." He picked a random direction and started walking across the field.

The monk followed him. Normally he would not approve of such language coming from a boy of Kohaku's age, but he felt that Kohaku's anger justified his actions and speech.

About halfway across the field, Kohaku told Miroku something very shocking.

"Hey, Miroku," he said, "I'll die before I let Naraku go on living the way he does. If I die in combat with him, oh well. I want to die in combat with him. At least that way I won't be completely guilty for the deaths back at my village. Besides, Sango probably will never forgive me."

"What makes you say that?" asked Miroku.

"Miroku, _I killed our father,_" Kohaku said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"You must have no idea how much Sango loves you and cares about you," said Miroku.

Kohaku let out a cruel chuckle. "How can she still love me? I'm a monster."

"No you're not!" said Miroku.

"Whatever," said Kohaku. "I'm not human; that's for damn sure. Normal humans aren't resurrected and their lives don't depend on some jewel shard."

As much as Miroku hated to admit it, Kohaku was making lots of points. The monk didn't say anything, however.

"You _do _realize that going after Naraku is _suicide, _right?" asked Miroku.

"Someone's gotta kill him," was Kohaku's only answer.

"And how do you plan on killing him?" asked Miroku.

"Well, you're gonna help me, right?" asked Kohaku.

"Well, yeah!" Of course Miroku would help! There was no way in hell he'd let Kohaku fight Naraku alone! "Kohaku, you don't realize how hard it is to kill Naraku. He's very strong. Trust me. I've been helping your sister, Kagome, and Inuyasha fight him for a while now, and nothing seems to get rid of him for good. Naraku's real sneaky. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's smart, too."

Kohaku nodded. "I think we can get him."

Miroku raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Okay, Kohaku," he said in a doubtful voice.

_Whatever you say Kohaku. Whatever you say._

The monk and the demon slayer walked on into the night, with one thing in mind, one thing they were going to accomplish:

_Naraku's death._

**AN: I know this chapter's mostly dialogue, but trust me, a nice, violent fight scene is coming up soon. If I get good feedback, I'll try and update more ****often. It's almost finished anyway. --JUUL**


	25. Tear Meat From the Bone

**Porcelain  
****by Juul**

**Chapter 25: Tear Meat From the Bone**

Kohaku and Miroku ran at full speed towards Naraku's castle. Kohaku was slowly regaining his memories of it's location. The moon was high in the sky, and the forest they were running through was deep and dark. Silence was in the air. Silence other than the monk and the slayer running. This was it. The day of Naraku's atonement was here.

"THIS WAY!" Kohaku screamed to Miroku, leading the way.

They were getting awfully close to the castle now. _Oh yes, _thought Kohaku, _Naraku, you are THROUGH!_

Miroku followed Kohaku, trying to contain his anger. He was saving it for Naraku.

After maybe five minutes, they came to a large hill. On top of said hill was an enormous, morbid structure: Naraku's castle.

Kohaku looked up, stopping for a moment to catch his breath. "We're... here..." he panted, putting his hands on his knees. "He's through..."

Miroku also stopped for a moment. He slowly looked up to the castle. "Kohaku," said the monk, "I know it's hard to contain yourself, but try to be careful when fighting him. Naraku is not an opponent one usually takes on alone. He's dangerous and unpredictable."

The boy whipped around and gave Miroku a nasty look. "Contain my anger?" He asked in a sarcastic voice. "I've BEEN containing my anger! That filthy monster USED ME! He made me KILL my FAMILY! And worst of all, he RAPED MY SISTER! My sister, Sango, the only person who doesn't think I'm a total untrustworthy waste..."

Miroku stood, staring at the boy in disbelief.

"You thinking of backing out?" yelled Kohaku. Miroku shook his head. "Good." Kohaku started hiking up the hill. "Let's go!"

They started the climb up the hill, straight to the battle of a lifetime.

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The dead of night. All was still. The monk and the boy had made it to the courtyard of Naraku's castle. The place looked like a desolate wasteland; the ruins from a horrible epidemic that seemed to have eliminated all forms of life. There was an epidemic all right, and it was just learning of the intruders from Kanna and her scrying mirror.

"NARA--!!" Kohaku went to scream for Naraku, but Miroku clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh!" warned Miroku. "Think for a minute... Do we _really _want Naraku to learn of our presence? He could have armed guards or something!"

Kohaku shook his head, then gave Miroku a threatening look. Miroku took the hint and took his hand off Kohaku's mouth. "Miroku," said Kohaku in a low voice, "There are _no _guards. All he has left is Kanna, and all she's good for is spying on people."

Miroku nodded. "NARAKU!" he called. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

All was still.

"I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!"

Silence.

"COME OUT! YOU COWARD!"

There was a slight rustle of leaves. Miroku and Kohaku looked around. Kohaku slightly raised his chain sickle, and Miroku held up his staff in defense... just in case.

Evil laughter was heard from somewhere in the shadows.

"Naraku!"

"Of course," said Naraku, stepping into view from within the shadows. "Who else could it possibly be?"

"You _must _have a death wish!" said Miroku.

Naraku smiled cruelly. Then he turned to Kohaku. "So, I see you've brought the brat with you..." Kohaku tightened his grip on the chain sickle. "Kohaku, do you like your memories that I have so carefully shielded from you for so long? Does it hurt?"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Kohaku, throwing the chain sickle at Naraku. It hit, slicing his right shoulder about halfway down. The weapon fell to the ground and Naraku's wound regenerated as if nothing had happened.

"You think you could get away with that?" asked Naraku in a taunting voice.

Miroku threw some scrolls at Naraku; they dissipated as soon as they touched him, not leaving a single mark.

Naraku smiled. "I'm not that easy to get rid of."

Kohaku could no longer contain himself. "Come on! Let's get this over with!" Naraku and Miroku turned to look at him. "You can't be killed? Prove it! Just tell me how to start this off! Don't keep me waiting!" He ran towards Naraku, slicing him up numerous times with the chainsickle.

The demon fell in four pieces to the ground. Kohaku crouched in front of him, breathing heavily. "Is he dead?" asked Kohaku.

"I don't think so," said Miroku. "Be careful..."

And just as before, Naraku formed back together again. He stood in front of Kohaku, who just stared in horror.

"What?" asked the demon. "Surprised? Here's _my _surprise!" He reached out and grabbed Kohaku by his neck.

"M... Miroku..."

"Kohaku!"

Naraku turned to Miroku. "Make one wrong move and I'll rip the jewel shard out of this precious whelp's back. He'll be dead before he hits the ground."

"Do it, Miroku!" said Kohaku. "Who cares about me? Just KILL HIM!"

Miroku looked at Kohaku, his mouth open. "Kohaku... I can't let him kill you..."

"DO IT!"

"No," said the monk.

Naraku placed a hand on Kohaku's back, fingering the spot where the jewel shard was located. "Make up your mind, monk..." Miroku shook his head. "No?" asked Naraku. "Well, your time's almost up..."

"KILL HIM, MIROKU!" screamed Kohaku.

"I CAN'T!" Miroku screamed back. "I CAN'T LET HIM KILL YOU!" He looked Kohaku straight in the eyes. "We're in this TOGETHER! I will NOT let you go down so easily!"

"Time's up..." said Naraku.

"KOHAKU!" Miroku lunged at Naraku. "NO!"


	26. Atonement

**Porcelain  
****by Juul**

**Chapter 26: Atonement**

"KOHAKU!" Miroku lunged at Naraku. "NO!"

Kohaku clenched his teeth, expecting death at any moment...

"MIROKU!"

_That wasn't Kohaku's voice... _thought Miroku. He looked behind Naraku, who had just turned around and dropped Kohaku. Kohaku scrambled to his feet and ran behind Miroku. They and Naraku stared at the sight before them.

Inuyasha was running straight for Naraku, madly swinging tetsusaiga. "NARAKU! YOU'RE FINISHED!" he screamed, slicing Naraku in two with the blade.

Kagome, Kaede, Shippo also showed up on Kirara. Kagome had her arrows at the ready, pointing at the two halves of Naraku. "Naraku!" she yelled.

Miroku looked up in relief. "What... what are you guys doing here?"

Inuyasha turned to face him, although his eyes never left Naraku. "Whaddya mean 'what are you guys doing here'?! What are _you _guys doing here?"

"We decided we'd go after Naraku and finish him once and for all," answered Kohaku, stepping out from behind Miroku.

"Well who said you could leave without us?" asked Inuyasha, resting tetsusaiga against his shoulder.

"Inuyasha!" yelled Kohaku, pointing behind the hanyou. "He's regenerating! Look out!"

"Huh?" Inuyasha spun around. Naraku had re-formed and was standing right in front of Inuyasha.

Naraku smiled, showing his fangs. "Like I was saying before, I'm _not _that easy to kill..." He reached out and punched Inuyasha in the face, knocking him backwards into Miroku. Kohaku stepped out of the way and then lunged at the spider demon, hurling his chain-sickle at him. Kagome shot some arrows at Naraku. They stuck out of his back, doing nothing.

Naraku turned around. "Is this all you got?" He shot poison miasma in Kagome's direction. Kirara jumped out of the way, soon after, letting Kagome off her back. Shippo and Kaede remained on the giant cat.

"I am so sick of you!" screamed Kohaku, actually cutting Naraku up again; this time in six pieces. He just regenerated once more. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" screamed Kohaku.

Naraku extended one of his arms into a sharp point and tried to stab Kohaku with it. The boy leaped out of the way just in time.

Miroku and Inuyasha got back up. "Come on, Naraku," said Inuyasha, "Leave them alone and fight ME!"

The spider demon turned around. "Okay," he said, "Let's fight."

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The fight lasted for a couple of hours. Everytime someone would hit Naraku, he would just re-form, and it seemed like every time he regenerated, he got even harder to kill. Kagome and Kaede hit him with enchanted arrows; Miroku sliced him with his staff and sent spell scrolls in his direction; Inuyasha got him with the Backlash Wave; Kohaku used his chain sickle; even Shippo helped with his foxfire. Nothing affected Naraku.

By now, everyone was getting exhausted, except Naraku.

Inuyasha jumped back, narrowly avoiding a blast of poison from Naraku. "Give it UP!" he screamed to Naraku. "You WON'T WIN!"

"That's _my _line," said Naraku, reaching out for Inuyasha with one of his tentacles. It wrapped around the hanyou and held him upside down. Inuyasha dropped tetsusaiga and it fell to the ground, sticking out and turning back to it's normal state.

"Put him down!" screamed Miroku. He charged towards Naraku, and went to slash him with his staff. Naraku shot another tentacle out and knocked Miroku down. He fell a few feet away, having the wind knocked out of him. He also thought he had broken a rib.

Kohaku took his turn and actually managed to hit Naraku again. He almost cut off his arm, but Naraku grabbed him and threw him. Kohaku landed next to Miroku, knocked out from the impact of hitting the ground. Kaede and Shippo were on Kirara's back. Kaede shot a few more arrows, but Naraku narrowly missed all of them. Kirara was starting to get tired. Kagome ran around the courtyard shooting arrows every once in a while, whenever the opportunity was at hand.

"PUT ME DOWN, YOU BASTARD!" yelled Inuyasha. He cut Naraku with his claws and was immediately dropped. He hastily got up, collected tetsusaiga, and ran to Miroku and Kohaku. After a moment, he turned around and faced Naraku. Inuyasha held up tetsusaiga with much difficulty. "Bring it," he said. "BRING IT!"

"I will," said Naraku, shooting a tentacle toward him. Inuyasha dodged it and managed to slice Naraku's arm off. The arm fell to the ground, twitching. Inuyasha watched it, side-tracked for a moment. Naraku took this chance to hit him. He hit him hard, despite missing an arm.

Inuyasha flew some odd feet away, rolling a few times after hitting the ground. He tried to get up, but couldn't.

Naraku walked towards him. He pulled his own torn up kimono top off and tossed it aside. The spider scar on his back was quite visible, more red than usual. "Inuyasha," said Naraku, "Just give it up. You and your friends have lost. I have won..."

"No," said Inuyasha, "You'll never win..."

"Oh," said Naraku, "I think I will." He stood over Inuyasha, taking tetsusaiga from his weak and tattered body. Naraku held the blade over Inuyasha. Untransformed, it was still very dangerous in Naraku's hands...

"INUYASHA!" screamed Kagome. "I'm all out of arrows!"

"Kagome," said Inuyasha, looking in her direction.

"INUYASHA!"

"THE SPIDER!" came a voice from seemingly out of nowhere.

Inuyasha looked around, as did Naraku.

It was Kagura. She and Sango had just flown into the battle zone on Kagura's feather. "HIT HIM IN THE BACK! THE SPIDER!" Kagura screamed. "WEAK SPOT!" She waved her fan at Naraku, knocking him over for the time being.

"She's right!" yelled Kaede from the sanctuary of being behind a busted pillar.

"But I'm out of arrows!" Kagome yelled, running towards the old priestess.

Kaede handed her an arrow. "Take my last one." Kagome gave her a questioning look. "I have faith in you, Kagome."

Kagura and Sango had just landed in the courtyard. "Give him everything we've got! Combine it!" screamed Kagura, holding up her fan. Sango was in her slayer outfit and she held up hiraikotsu, a broken look in her eyes, but confidence showing on her face.

Inuyasha nodded and picked tetsusaiga up from where Naraku had dropped it. "Let's do it," he said, his strength returning.

Naraku got up. This was it, he _knew it. _Without any warning, it was like a miasma bomb went off. Everyone backed away a bit, trying to shield themselves from the blast of poison, but still keeping their guards up.

"What the hell was that?!" screamed Inuyasha.

"MIASMA!" screamed Sango, putting her protective mask on.

After the miasma cleared, the fighters stared in shock at the sight before them:

_Naraku had shown his true form: A gigantic spider demon. _

"Naraku's true form!" said Kagura.

"Now we're never gonna get him!" said Shippo in defeat.

"Yes we are," said Kagura, "See that red mark on his back? That's still his weak spot!" She turned to her friends. "GIVE HIM EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT!"

Everyone tried to get close enough to the giant spider, but it just kicked at them with it's legs, knocking someone out of the way occasionally. Eventually, Inuyasha sliced off a few of his legs, making him tilt to one side.

The spider demon roared in outrage as it lost two more legs, leaving it with only three left. It fell on it's stomach and sent out blasts of miasma as a last resort.

"GET HIM!" Screamed Kagura, holding up her fan. "NOW!"

Kagome let her arrow go.

"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha screamed, sending all his remaining power at Naraku.

Sango swung hiraikotsu with all her might and let go...

Kagura sent out a deadly tidal wave of wind with a simple flick of her wrist...

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It was over. A huge explosion of miasma, guts, and deceased lesser demons littered the courtyard and some walls of the actual castle. One by one, the lesser demons dissappeared, turning into little white orbs. Souls perhaps?

"Is it... over?" asked Shippo, coming out of hiding.

Kaede and Kirara followed suit.

Miroku awoke and stood up. "Is Naraku dead?" he asked. And, as if answering his own question, he felt a tingling sensation in his hand. "Hmm?" he pulled the protective cloth off of his hand and saw his wind tunnel vanish within a matter of seconds. Miroku fell back into a sitting position, speechless.

Kagura put her hand over her chest. Now there was _no way _that Naraku could ever take her back under his control. Although it had been hers already for a while now, _now _her heart was truly hers to keep.

All was silent for a long time.

Finally, Kagome piped up. "Is it finally over?"

Miroku turned to look at her. "Kagome, it's over."

"Naraku's dead."


	27. The Last Shard

**Porcelain  
****by Juul**

**A/N: IT'S FINALLY OVER! I'm so sad! Not really, but I think this was my best work at writing ****yet, if I do say so myself. Hope everyone liked it, and thanks to all my readers and reviewers. ****Peace!**

**Chapter 27: The Last Shard**

It was over. Naraku was dead. Inuyasha and the others had gone back to Kaede's village. They had won. Miroku's wind tunnel was gone. Kohaku and Sango had avenged their village. Kaede had avenged Kikyo. Everything was almost perfect... except for one thing.

The Shikon Jewel was nearly complete. It had only one shard left to be put in place: The one in Kohaku's back.

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ONE WEEK LATER...

Kohaku sat on a log in the woods, a few yards away from Kaede's hut. He wanted to be alone, even in this time of rejoice and celebration. The boy stared at the starry sky above, reflecting. He had avenged his family and friends. He should be happy! Right?

"I can't fully be happy," said Kohaku to himself, "not knowing what I've done." He looked down at his hands. "I'm a monster."

He continued with his pensiveness, until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned his head, only to see Sango standing behind him.

"Hey," she said in a soft voice.

"Hey," said Kohaku.

"Can I sit here with you?" asked Sango. Kohaku nodded. Sango took a seat right next to her little brother. "Kohaku, I'm so happy to have you back."

The boy had nothing to say.

"It seems like lifetimes ago that we've been at peace," said Sango, putting her arm around Kohaku's shoulders.

"Yeah," said Kohaku. "A lifetime..."

Sango detected something off in his voice. "Kohaku?" She looked at him. "What's bothering you? You should be happy."

Kohaku looked away from her. "What's bothering me?" He paused. "Everything."

"What do you mean?" asked Sango.

"Look," said Kohaku, "How do I put this?" There was no easy way out of this explanation. "Sango, the Shikon Jewel's almost complete again..." Kohaku tightly shut his eyes, trying to hold back tears.

Sango shook her head, putting a hand over her mouth.

Kohaku nodded. "Sango, I just... I can't live like this! Knowing what I've done!"

"Kohaku!" said Sango. "That one piece of the jewel doesn't matter! We know where it's at and--"

Kohaku stood up. "No!" He looked at his sister with tears in his eyes. "I can't! It's not just because of the jewel shard! I cannot live like this! I'll always be guilty! Always! No matter what--"

"So will I!" Sango stood up. "Back at Naraku's castle, I was in a pure _hell! _I wanted to _die _back there!"

Kohaku couldn't stand himself at the moment. He fell into his sister's embrace and bawled his eyes out.

Sango held her brother, crying along with him.

"Kohaku, don't!" said Sango.

"I have to," said Kohaku.

The siblings looked at each other for the longest time, savoring every minute of that final embrace.

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The next morning, Inuyasha and everyone sat outside Kaede's hut, waiting anxiously for Sango and Kohaku's return.

"Where are they?" asked Shippo.

"I don't know," said Inuyasha.

"I'm a little worried," said Kagome, "Kohaku didn't seem too well last time I saw him..."

Kagura stood up, "Look, there's Sango!" The others stood up as well. Sango was walking down a path towards the hut.

"But where's--??" asked Kagome, and as Sango came into a better view, Kagome's question was answered.

Sango walked towards her friends, holding Kohaku. Sango was looking down at the ground, and it didn't take much to know that she was crying, and what had happened. Everyone was silent.

"Sango..." said Miroku.

Without looking up, Sango said to Kagome, "I have the last shard of the Shikon Jewel."

"Oh, Sango!" said Kagome.

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At sunset that day, Miroku and Kaede held a small funeral for Kohaku. Inuyasha and Miroku had buried him. Sango took it really hard, considering Kohaku was the only family she had left.

"Sango," said Kagura, "I'm really sorry it came down to this."

"Me too," sobbed the taijiya. Miroku put his arm around her shoulders.

"It's finally over," he said. "Everything is at peace, now."

In the battle over the Shikon Jewel, many lives were lost. All because of greed. Was it really Naraku? What was it, then? Desire? Envy? The longing of riches and a perfect life? Whatever it was, it will always manifest itself in many beings in many ways.


End file.
